Wings of Steel
by CommanderEVE
Summary: Wings of Steel - The chronicles of Lieutenant Major Eve of The Tytonic Union of Pure Ones. Set eight years after the War of the Embers, this story is about the life journey of a young barn owl called Eve Alba.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter one: Inception of dawn**

In the beginning, early spring in the most southern part of the Forest Kingdom of Tyto that faced the vast ocean known simply as the Unknown, a full moon shone over the almost silent, majestic woodland, it was indeed a peaceful sight. Insects enjoying the darkness could be heard as they buzzed, danced amongst the damp dew covered ferns and other undergrowth plants. The light of the full moon radiated through the tops of the grand fir trees creating bright columns of light cutting through the mist lighting the vegetation below. Light hitting edges of hairy leaves glowed with a silver lining. Long shadows smeared into the gloomy midnight mist, dissolving into the endless sea of thin tree trunks. Stars of all brightness and sizes covered the whole sky, shining and sparkling like a million tiny holes in a black sheet giving wonder to all those who lived in the great forest. Silently, two barn owls glided through the calm but frigid night air high above the canopy of luscious tree tops that swayed in the light breeze. Their eyes carefully scanning the land below, piercing the darkness with night vision in the wake of the full moon behind them. Their ear slits listening in to the rustle of dried bristles of countless fir trees with their acute hearing. Not making a single sound not from their wings or two each other. They slipped into a steep angle with moon lit feather tips, glowing intensely like a silver lining of a cloud. In the talons of the larger owl Zava, held a chubby light brown vole. The smaller owl Jax, who strangely held a pine cone from a lodge pole pine tree gripped in one foot and in the other was a small dark brown Mouse. Jax turned his head smoothly to the beautiful owl with the auburn shades to her plumage, his eyes as black and mysterious as the night. The moon light casing on one side of his brilliant white facial disc as it caught the fine feathers on its ridge above his beak.

"Zava, I wonder how the youngsters are doing," troubled Jax with a soft voice breaking the silence.

Zava looked towards her mate who was now looking ahead of him, his white feathers stood out from the night. Zava stared at him for several seconds as she glided; wondering what was on his mind. She noticed that something was abnormal in his thoughts as if something was disturbing him.

"I am always thinking of them, Jax. Without them, I do not now know where I would be," reinsured Zava gently as one of her eyes caught in the moonlight.

An aged grand fir tree stood tall and lofty into night, poking out from the thick canopy of pine trees; it bathed in the light of the moon as a gentle breeze flew through its bristles creating a rustling noise of dried leaves rubbing together. With the moon now behind them, two little silhouettes swiftly moved across the tree tops, silently, the pair adjusted their flight pattern, making miniscule movements, banking; they took a dive, bursting through the canopy of thick trees. Suddenly a darker and duskier world appeared full of thin trees that faded into the enigmatic darkness. Beneath the canopy of trees was a different world, looking tranquil yet so much was going on, insects and other birds could be heard all around singing their songs. Almost half way up the fir tree, the pair landed on a thick branch making abrasive marks into its dry rough bark. The tree covered in dense pine bristles that never fell of, even in the unkindest nights of the winter the tree endured. Behind the thick coverage of the pine bristles in the trunk of the tree a large dark hollow with a splintered rim that split down the tree could be seen. The hollow was big enough to fit a whole family of owls and more, inside all around the walls where drawings carved into the light soft wood, made by talons that had hardly harden off. Four nests all neatly made with mainly twigs of fir trees, moss and owl down taken from an owl's breast placed in the back of the hollow. Owls do not usually make nests, but this was one odd thing this family did. The nests where all so tidily put together, any other owl would think of them as a work of art. Except for one, the one nest on the end sitting in the darkness, it was a mess with everything shoved into the centre, a pellet that had been yarped up recently on the side outside the nest with a very warm and cosy sleeping owlet sitting init. The owlet, Eve was her name looked very much like Zava with the dark ruddy tones to the feathers on her head and pure white facial disc that was almost completely developed. Her down had almost completely fallen off and was about 10 nights away from flying. The nest to the right looked like two nests fused together, one larger than the other, two almost completely white owlets sat in it, they were awake, babbling away as they sat side by side pressed up against each other, keeping warm each other warm. Eve was the youngest then Avia and then Altair was the oldest.

"I bet Mum and Da will be back soon! I can feel it!" Said Avia, bursting into excitement as he jumped up and down in the nest, pushing his older brother by flapping his fledging wings about, causing down beneath him to fly into the air. What Avia didn't know was that the feeling he was feeling was coming from his gizzard.

Altair laughed softly at the sight of his younger brother dancing around, swinging his almost fully fledged wings about. Altair was glad that he was so excited even though he was being budged almost out of his nest by all the movement.

"You always say-" Altair was suddenly interrupted as he twitched his head this way and that, his sensitive hearing picked up the noise of two sets of talons scratching into the dry bark of the branch outside.

Two owls; one followed the other in landing. There was a brief moment of complete silence as both owlets waited in the darkness with anticipation, all the owlets eyes where fixed onto who was about to come through the splintered rim of the hollow, Avia began to bob his head about to try and get a better view. The silence was broken instantly as Avia suddenly shot up into the air as soon as he caught glimpses of owls that he recognised as Mum and Da. He was also getting awfully good at distinguishing sounds from one owl from another. Altair was again being budged out of the way by Avia, some down spun, floating weightlessly to the ground. Even though Avia was the second oldest he sure did not act like it.

"I told you Eve!" Screeched Avia pointing his fledging wing at Altair then jerked his wing to point at Eve who flinched at the piercing noise.

Opening one eye she squinted at Avia, idly peering at him as if to tell him to shut up and then slowly close her eyelid again as she tucked her facial disc deeper into her white puffed up breast feathers out of irritation. Avia watched Eve in confusion for a moment before his attention was taken away by the noise of his parents outside.

"Yeah, whatever Avia," mumbled Eve shifting her feet beneath her.

Jax's white heart shaped face with poked in; to the owlets his facial disc seemed massive, Altair and Avia gazed at him for a moment in awe. Stepping in over the rim of the hollow Jax made his way in, followed by Zava who held a vole dangling lifeless by the neck in her beak. They both seemed very happy to see there owlets again as they both looked at each other as if you say that they had done a good job with bring them up. While Avia was busy looking at Zava with the vole, Altair could see that Jax held a pine cone from a fir tree tightly gripped in his foot, his talons where wrapped around it. And in the other foot held a mouse; Altair stared intensely at the pine cone as he oddly found it more interesting than the mouse. Suddenly tipping his head up Altair eagerly looked at Jax as he placed the pine cone and mouse gently on the floor.

"Woah, Da, you have a fat head!" exclaimed Avia as he ran across the hollow gripping Jax in a tight hug with his wings. Even though Jax and Zava had not been gone for long to Avia it seemed forever. Altair would often have to remind him that they would return with food and not leave him behind.

"You'll be as fat as me one day," said Jax churring as he found it amazing how owlets would grow up so quickly, this must have been his second lot of owlets with Zava.

"You got me another pine cone Da," warmly said Altair with joy. Jax would return home with a pine cone almost every night he would go on the hunt for food, so Altair ended up with a pile of them near his nest. Altair himself never knew why he liked them so much; he just liked to collect them.

Avia being naturally noisy screeched out of sheer excitement as he looked up at Jax and tightly hugged him again, almost squeezing the air out of him as if he was some kind of warm cosy owlpoppen.

"Not as fat as your beak Avia," sneered Eve in the background as she sniggered softly to herself as she often would, the sniggering sounded like a series of short raspy hisses. Only tytos made this sound when they laughed or sniggered.

Avia smoothly spun his head to look behind him to see Eve squinting at him from within the darkness, her eyes where just two dark slits in her face. A cold stillness ran through his fledging feathers, as he looked away he took a step forward into Jax's feathery breast feathers out of fear. He felt that the closer he was to Jax the further away he was from Eve.

"Eve, why are you sleeping at this time?" questioned Altair tipped his head towards Eve, sighing as he looked at her with discontent.

Eve suddenly stopped sniggering as she grew serious, she gazed at Altair for a brief moment before closing them tightly shut, and she did not want to hear Altair complaining again about how she was not supposed to be sleeping at this time. She was tired after spending time awake during the day with her friend Mark, a newly fledged grass owl who lived nearby. To provoke Altair she shook her feathers vigorously, ruffling them all up till she looked like a ball of feathers and down. Preening herself she realigned all the feathers neatly before sitting comfortably puffing her feathers out again to keep herself warm.

Altair sighed, lightly shaking his head in disbelief, his warm breath was like smoke in the cold "Eve, you are a waste of time," said Altair, despondently slowly turning his head to look the other way paying no attention to his younger sister. Eve then opened one eye again looking Altair before she huffed back to pretending to sleep.

"Now, now, No need for that Eve," said Zava in a soft tone as she walked out from behind Jax away from the entrance and towards Eve.

"But, he does have a loud beak," quietly mumbled Eve squinting as she turned her head away.

Zava looking at Eve noticed that she was sleeping. "Great Glaux Eve!" screeched Zava, shocked at the sight of Eve sleeping. "Wake up, you are meant to sleep in the day!" snapped Zava with a slightly harsher tone, she just could not believe the nerve of her daughter. Eve responded with nothing but shifting one of her feet beneath her and a heavy sigh.

"Also, Altair, look what I have for you," said Jax breaking the tension as he held a pine up between two Talons. Everyone looked towards him, ignoring Eve.

Being very warm and snug in her downy nest Eve slowly began to open both her eyes. "Another cone?" questioned Eve stupefied, jolting awake she looked down at the pine cones around Altair's nest, there must have been a dozen of them or so. She could never understand why he had collected so many; it was really quite odd to her.

Standing up Eve shook her feathers, various bits of dust lifted into the air, like plankton in water. Down flew weightlessly through the cold air of the hollow, some of it floated towards her facial disc, watching it until it became too close for her eyes to focus on, she pushed it away with her wing but was unsuccessful making it fly everywhere in all directions.

"Yes, another one," heavily sighed Altair, cocking his head to the side to get a good look at Eve. He had enough of Eve picking at little things about him and his brother; it was starting to irritate him. Eve never acted like this before half a moon cycle ago, he could stand the odd joke or two but these nights it was starting to turn into a constant issue with her after she had met that grass owl known as Mark who hand been banned from the hollow after he had found him talking about the Pure Ones to Eve. Jax and Zava said that Eve only started on Avia because he was submissive to her torment or maybe she was in a bad mood or just simply bored. Altair didn't think it was any of those things, he thought it was Mark who had filled her head with the ideas of superiority of tytos as she acted as if she was the best owl at everything in the hollow often talking about how tytos where the best.

Suddenly with a burst of speed Avia ran pass Jax and towards Zava like a dart, dashing across hollow. The sounds of talons starching the wood could be heard in all the owls' sensitive ear slits. Zava then lifted her right wing up Avia ran underneath hugging close to her breast feathers as she put her wing back over Avia as she started to preen his feathers on his head. Small bits of down began to twirl in the still air of the hollow.

"I caught this mouse for Eve, and Zava has a vole for Avia and Altair to share," explained Jax looking at each owlet as he spoke of them.

Eve walked over to Jax quickly snatching up the mouse by the tail with her beak without saying a word to Jax; walking back to her nest she stopped to grab the dangling mouse from her beak with her left foot and flipped it around, grabbed the flesh of the neck with her beak. Jax looked over at Zava with a cold worried expression as Eve had just literary snatched the mouse without saying anything or even looking at him with the slightest of interest. Eve got to her nest, sitting down she began to pick at the flesh on mouse's head. Jax let what Eve had just done fly over his feathered head as he walked over to the two older brothers who he hoped cared just as much about him as he would.

"Woah, that's a big one da!" screeched Avia taking a good look at the vole as he bobbed his head this way and that.

"Nice catch! You are very good at hunting," complimented Altair who always acted mature for his age.

"I think you will all be better than I one day," said Jax, patting Altair and then Avia with his wing on the sides of their heads.

Altair picked up the vole with his foot laying it down flat in front of himself and Avia. Altair then gave a quick glance over at Eve as she began to eat her mouse whole, he began to think of how greedy she was; Eve had her first meat on bones. His mind then wondered back to a time when Eve had snatched the vole from him and Altair and ate it in front of them out of spite, this made him cry. Altair ended having a fight with her because of it, Altair found it hard to ever get close or know Eve because of her behaviour and what she would often say about the legends not existing. It was Jax's idea that Eve would have her own meal from now on to stop the fights from happening again. But of course she saw the reason she got her own meal was because she was better than her brothers. After Eve had ate her meal whole she could feel her gizzard making short work of it and soon it would be yarped up into a nice neat pellet. Jax watched Eve for a moment as she finished up her meal, thinking about her recent behaviour, thinking about how he could make her realise, make her snap out of her rude habits then it suddenly clicked.

"Ah, I have an idea," thought Jax to himself walking over to Eve, leaning in towards her he spoke, "Eve, I saw what you did earlier, your older brothers were so happy when I gave them their catch. But not you, you did not even look at me," paused Jax as he fixed the gaze of his dark eyes on Eve. "So, I thought that next time I will not get your food, next time you are coming with me and getting it yourself so you will understand what kind of effort it requires instead of sitting on your tail feathers all night," snapped Jax quietly.

The first thing that came to Eves mind was how she could possibly catch her own prey if she couldn't even fly yet. She had only begun her first branching lesions a few nights back. But looking deep into Jax's dark eyes Eve knew deep in her head that he was right, the fact of him being right made Eve feel irritated and uncomfortable, she hated being wrong. In her mind she had to be always right about everything. Jax waited for what Eve was going to say, but from the looks of it Eve was thinking too hard to make a response. Instead she stared at the floor just beyond his feet; she did not want to look up as she felt embarrassed with herself. "He's right," thought Eve, trying not to look at Jax. "Da…" softly said Eve pausing. "You watch I will be the best!" eagerly piped up Eve as her head suddenly tilted up, gazing deep into Jax's eyes.

"That's it!" boomed Jax as he tapped Eve on the side with his wing as he liked her change in attitude. Jax had a habit of tapping his owlets; he did it to the last ones. Eve grew happier by Jax's response. "I am sure you will be a better hunter then I when you grow old, when you have owlets of your own it will be your job to protect them," explained Jax as he wanted Eve to feel proud and not beating herself over her silly behaviour.

Avia walked away from under Zava's wing and over to his nest to eat his vole with Altair.

"See! I can share with Altair now, you have your own, you big fuzzy meanie!" screeched Avia, hissing at Eve. Indeed, Eve did have the most down out of all the owlets and Avia would often make fun of this. Although Eve had her own insults that made Avia just as upset.

The noise irritated Eve as she cringed as the high pitched noise entered her ear slits, she blinked slowly to trying to push aside the rising anger, but it did not do her any justice. She felt like she desperately wanted to express her anger towards Avia, it was boiling up inside her.

"That's it! I cannot stand his fat beak anymore!" thought Eve, tuning her head slowly to look at Avia narrowing her eyes at him. Eve had suddenly come alive; this was the first time she showed any activity so far.

She tried to control herself but the temptation grew too great as she finally decided to stand up; spread her wings out low, dipping her head towards the ground letting out a demonic hiss at Avia, it ripped through the hollow. Avia immediately wilfed to half his size, Altair cringed at the sight and sound, he also felt himself become slimmer as he held onto his brother. No one had expected Eve to react in such a way. Jax and Zava where talking to each other near the entrance of the hollow when they heard Eve hissing at the other owlets. They could tell it was Eve as her hiss was always the most frightening out of all the owlets. Eve then started creeping towards Avia from foot to foot, snapping her beak; forcing Avia to back against Altair who then put his wings around his younger brother but it was no use Eve kept coming closer. Altair began to be pushed against the wall of the hollow as his feet slipping under him pushing himself against the wall, trying to find more space.

"Eve! Cut it out you freak!" Shrieked Altair in a mixture of fear and anger, he stood up straight and gave Eve a hard stare looking deep into her emotionless eyes.

Jax suddenly sprung to life as he swiftly hopped across the hollow spreading his wing out between the two just before Eve would lash out. Separating them both before Altair snapped as he did last night. Eve then folded her wings back against her sides with a smug look on her face. She then suddenly moved forward, spreading out her toes she lashed at the air in front of her brothers with her foot, pretending to scratch them. Avia hissed as they both lurched back away from Eve. Avia ran passed Eve and threw himself cuddling against Jax; Eve smoothly twisted her head as she followed Avia across with her eyes slowly. Altair breathing heavily as his feathers slowly returned laid flat again, returning back to his normal size. He glared at Eve, remembering the look in her eyes, he saw it, it was terrifying, and her eyes had turned as black as coal.

"You freaked out," slyly said Eve with a giggle that slipped into a throaty snicker and faded out.

"I freaked out!" snapped Altair giving Eve a hard stare. "Look at Avia! He's horrified!" angrily screeched Altair pointing his wing at Avia snuggling up to Jax.

"He's annoying, he needs to be taught a lesson," simply said Eve, smirking at Altair.

Altair squinted and cocked his head slightly as he was baffled by Eve's response.

"He's, annoying?" questioned Altair in utter disbelief. Breathing in deep he continued, "Your own brother?" doubted Altair looking at Avia. "You think he's annoying! Well, guess what, I think if anything is annoying it's you! Get out of here!" Screeched Altair as he stomped his foot on the ground taking a step forward and firmly pointed his wing straight at the entrance to the hollow.

Eve looked Altair up and down and then gazed out of the entrance of the hollow, it did seem very inviting to Eve. Turning her head to look at her flight feathers, most of them where there. She could not fully fly yet, only mange short flights and hopping from branch to branch. "Someday," Eve thought to herself as she imagined what it would be like to soar high into the sky away from here, away from Altair and her family. As Eve's thoughts drifted off, away from all the noise within the hollow she thought of what she would do once she could fly. She certainly wouldn't look back at Altair. "If I could fly I would come and see you Mark," thought Eve looking deeply outside the hollow. Mark was her only friend and he was banned from the hollow by her parents just because he kept bring the subject of tytos being the purist of all owls into the hollow.

"Calm down Altair, I know, I know," said Jax with a sigh as he then told Eve to go sit down in her nest and that he would talk to her later.

Altair tucked his wing back against his side and took a deep breath to calm down. He then watched as Eve stomped over to her nest kicking Altair's neatly placed pine cones across the hollow floor, sniggering as she did it. Altair felt himself want to retort out of sheer anger but instead he just shuffled from one foot to the other. Altair gave a deep sigh using his third eyelid to clear any debris from his eye, it was a habit he did when he was anxious. In the end he decided not to react to Eve as he saw her as immature, he was the oldest owlet in the hollow and he thought he should set an example for Avia and Eve if she ever had paid attention to him for once. Altair then shrugged off what had just happened. He looked down at the vole that lay at his feet and continued to rip the fur and flesh at it for Avia as he was too shaken to do it himself. Jax then pushed Avia lightly with his wing to tell him that Altair was ready to give parts of the vole to him. Avia stumbled forward in fear, stopped glancing at Eve then back at Jax who gave him a nod of reassurance. Eve smirked at Avia that sent him suddenly running over to Altair like a dart hopping into the nest next to Altair. Avia looked at Altair and then at the vole wiggling his tail feathers in excitement, Altair and Jax churred softly as they looked at Avia having fun. Eve hunched over slightly as if a cold breeze blew through the hollow.

"This is the best vole ever because Da caught it!" said Avia in content.

Altair looked at him; he found it amazing how he had cheered up so quickly, compared to him he was still shaken up, Jax then decided to let them be. Turned towards Eve giving her a stare of disappointment sighing as he walked over.

"Now, Eve. What was that about?" sternly asked Jax looking intensely at Eves face.

Eve looked at her Da with a feeling of regret in her gizzard, it felt like a stone. Jax saw how sorry she looked and calmed down a little. At least she was sorry about it.

"He called me a meanie," quietly muttered Eve as she titled her downy covered head to the ground, looking at her feet shuffling them as an anxious reaction.

Jax sighed in response to Eve. He then patted her on the wing with his wing and Eve looked up at Jax's facial disc with a look of sorrow.

"That's hardly an insult Eve, it doesn't mean much, and you are all young, things like that would happen. But getting angry like that is unnecessary, you almost made Avia yeep on the spot and he is your own brother. Altair did get angry at you, but that is his normal reaction, he wanted to protect his brother. I don't think he really means for you to leave the hollow, I believe it was his frustration talking," explained Jax calmly, Eve listened carefully for once and Jax could tell. "I am glad you are listening, as you usually don't listen to what anyone else to you," Jax added. "I know you are most likely upset about be not allowing Mark to come and visit you every day, but he is full of lies Eve, so is his family, sorry to put it that way."

Eve then nodded as she felt much better inside; the regret had begun to disappear.

"OK Da, I am sorry, I promise I will be the best listener you will ever know!" said Eve as she perked up a little from her usual grumpy self. "And, I will not try and talk to Mark or his family again," said Eve as her mind began to wonder about Mark and his family; she began to wonder why Mark had said the Guardians where evil.

"Oh, I should tell you this; did you know that we, barn owls have the greatest hearing of all owls?" explained Jax.

"Really?" asked Eve in awe as she did not know. Jax nodded at Eve for a yes. Eve had completely forgotten about thinking about Mark.

"Now, go and sort your nest out Eve," said Jax reassuring Eve, patting her with his wing.

"Sure thing Da!" said Eve hopping over to her nest with delight. As Eve turned her back, Jax's mind also began to wonder about Eve and her connection with Mark. It had worried him, had Mark said something to Eve that changed her mind set? He knew that Eve being a young tyto herself made her vulnerable to such owls as the Pure Ones. He was very glad that they no longer existed, but they still remained close by since Marks grandda was a Pure One who died in the War of the Embers.

Eve stepped into her nest and started pushing the down and moss around, making it messier then before, with the twigs falling out from the side along with moss and down being pushed into the centre. Zava saw what Eve was doing and sighed, she then came over as she saw what Eve was doing.

"Here, Eve, I'll help you out," said Zava as she started to preen Eve down the side of her wing.

After she had lightly preened Eve she started to reorder the nest by putting the twigs back in place with her beak and then pushed the down and moss out evenly as she had made it in the first place.

"See, that's how you do it," said Zava softly turning her head to look at Eve, Eve was watching carefully as how her Mum was doing it so she could remember for next time.

"Oh, that's good Mum!" Said Eve excitedly as she sat back down on the nest and ruffled her feathers to get cosy. She noticed how much better it felt. "This sure is a lot better," thought Eve to herself.

Zava turned around looking at all her owlets, Eve looked warm, comfortable and hassle-free while Avia had his part of the vole Altair ate the rest whole. Avia still looked tensely towards Eve every so often. Altair had caught him looking over and told him not to worry because he was at his side.

"Who wants to hear more about the Legends?" excitedly said Zava from Eves nest as she looked around, waiting for the uproar of excitement.

"Me! Me!" said Avia almost jumping out of his nest. Zava churred as it was always Avia who was the most outspoken of the three owlets.

"Me too!" said Eve jumped up with down flying everywhere. "Don't forget me!" screeched Eve in excitement as she sat flopped back down again.

Altair twirled his head to the left, churring softly as he watched how enthusiastic his brother and sister where. He was older than they so he had moved on a little but he found it still great to watch them grow up he finally understood what his Mum and Da meant by it was fun to watch owlets grow and he could also understand the legends better too, so he would often help the younger ones understand it too. Jax and Zava then went between where the two nests where.

"I told you all before that my younger sister is a Guardian at the Great Tree, remember? She is in the search and rescue chaw lead by Twilight. You know the great grey who was part of the band with Soren and Gylfie?" said Zava.

Eve and Avia looked towards Altair looking at him for answers, wondering if he knew what a great grey owl looked like as they had never seen a one their lives. Eve and Avia thought that every tyto was a barn owl and every owl was a tyto. Only Altair knew the difference between tytos. Eve vaguely remembered Jax explaining that a great grey as a large owl with grey feathers and yellow eyes but she found that very hard to believe as she had only ever seen a grey owl with black eyes, being a sooty owl, so she stuck with the image of a sooty owl in her mind thinking that they looked just like a great grey.

"The owl who defeated Kludd of the Pure Ones," paused Altair "Twilight is so amazing," added Altair as he knew a lot about the legends. Unlike other owlets and parents they thought that the legends where just legends but to Altair they meet so much more having a parents who have met the Guardians. Altair would often have long talks well into the day with his Da about the legends. He found it hard to believe that the grass owl family Eve had liked so much hated the legends, he couldn't imagine what they had been teaching their owlets. He was glad that Jax had stopped them from twisting Eves mind.

"Woah… that's so awesome!" said Avia in awe as he looked at Zava.

"I know right, I want to be a Guardian like her too!" said Altair in response.

"Yeah, I want to meet her one day! Can I Mum?" enthusiastically said Avia.

"Me too… I am going to work hard to become a Guardian and when I can fly I will go the Great Tree!" Said Eve with zeal as she looked at the carvings on the wall of the hollow at what she had drawn. Carvings of Soren and Pelli, the monarchs of the Great Tree, she even did carvings into the hollow of herself as a fully-fledged owl, as a Guardian with battle claws, she would really want her own pair of battle claws one day even though Jax said they are not amazing since they are used for killing other owls.

"I am sure you will all make fine Guardians!" enthusiastically said Jax.

All the owlets looked at one another churring, mumbling about what they would do if they were at the Great Tree. Every so often one of them would suddenly shake with laughter.

"Oh, oh, I'd wanna met Soren and Twilight coz he kicks so much tail feathers!" said Avia thrilled.

"I know right! He was like this," said Eve as she jumped into the air pretending to be Twilight with her wings and feet attacking the thin air down begun to sail everywhere.

"Gylfie and Otulissa are so intelligent. Don't you think?" question Altair but Eve and Avia had grabbed everyone's attention, talking about Twilight and the rest of the band. He then sighed and slumped down his down at his sides as he watched Eve and Avia giggling away.

"Eve, calm down, you might hit Avia," worried Jax as he came forward attempting to hold Eve in her place as he had watched Eve slashing the air with her talons as she danced around.

"Yes, yes they are. I have met them both with my sister. I think one day I will take you all to see my sister once you are all strong enough fliers," said Zava paying attention to what Altair said.

Altair's eyes lit up from the thought of going to the Great Tree. He was happy to have such an amazing Mum and Da. Looking over at Eve for a moment, he wondered if Eve felt the same way about her parents.

"Oh, sorry," mumbled Eve quietly as she quickly sat back down in her nest and looked up at Jax.

"Yeah, just like that. He killed the evil owl Metal Beak," said Avia excitedly.

Eves head spun around towards Avia and Altair, some down had fell off her head in the process.

"I don't think Metal Beak is evil, he did what he thought was right," said Eve simply, as those exact words where what Mark had said to her.

Avia and Altair went very still and gazed at Eve in silence, Avia then cringed at what just hit his ear slits. Altair looked at Avia with a worried glance. He then looked at the floor at his pine cones to think. He knew something was not quite right with Eve; his feelings about her grew with each passing day.

"Seriously?" grilled Avia as it broke Altair's train of thoughts and his head snapped up to look at Avia.

"Can't be that-" wondered Altair's thoughts as he gave an apprehensive glance at Eve. He was amazed that she was still going on even though he had said to her that Mark spoke nothing but false words of the Pure Ones returning to the land once more.

Altair looked around him discreetly as he noticed how the others did not take what Eve had said as seriously as he did. He thought that maybe it was just him being paranoid.

Zava then noticed how Altair was in deep thought, noticing that he was peering around the hollow, and his gaze always returning to Eve. They were thinking about Eve, Zava felt the need to correct them.

"No, Avia, Altair, I don't think she means it in that way, she's still young, like you. But you haven't met any other owls yet," said Zava, pausing as she turned her head to look at Eve. "There are many different Owls out there, they are diverse, and you'll get to meet them when you get older and can fly like me and Jax can." explained Zava.

"Diverse? What is that?" queried Avia as his trail of thoughts had already wondered off as it happened to most owlets his age.

Eve then took advantage of Avia's disadvantage by churring slyly, provoking his anger, rubbing the fact that he did not understand in his face. Altair noticed how quickly Eve jumped on him and felt his anger boil.

"Shut it Eve, you most likely don't even know the meaning of the word either," snapped Altair as he suddenly come out of his trance of thoughts.

Eve suddenly went quiet, being bored of her two brothers she decided to look outside instead as the warm colours began to creep up the horizon pushing the millions of stars back as the mighty blazing sun peeked over in the cloudless sky. Eve then began to think of the Guardians how they would rise up into the darkness every night to do noble deeds. She then thought of mark and all he had said about the Pure Ones, he even said that they had returned to the land and that he had seen them before. Jax had said it was all false, but what if Mark was right? What if they had returned? To her the Pure Ones made more sense than the guardians. She noticed that her older brother, Altair had an almost perfect understanding of the legends. The thoughts began to make her head hurt as they mulled over for several minutes. She finally fell asleep. As Eve dozed off in her downy covered nest Altair watched her carefully in a world of his own, the soft golden light shone on her giving her down a golden glow.

"What is she thinking about? I wonder, I don't care what Mum and Da says about her, something isn't right," thought Altair to himself as he also nodded off as well.

Everything was quite until blistering noises filled the air, screeching, shrieking, and hissing all the noises barn owls made in distress, the sounds of talons scratching rough bark, voices of his brother and blood splattering across the bark could all be heard in the middle of a very cloudy dream that made no sense, the images didn't match up with the noises.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter two: From the miasma**

Before the waning gibbous moon begun to creeping over the horizon lined with trees, the warm light lingered in the sky creating a soft blue glow rising from the obscure forest that melted into the darkness of the night, pushing the stars back across the sky. As the creatures of the day went to sleep the owls awoke into the eerie darkness that surrounded them.

A serene atmosphere could be felt inside the silent hollow. Eve, partly awake, disturbed and unsettled could hear the heart beats and steady breathing of her family. She could tell each heart beat apart, Eve sighed with grief as she slowly counted the heart beats over again, she could feel the grief creep in into her hollow bones as a fresh memory that seemed distant yet it had only happened a few hours ago looped in her mind. She had thought that what happened last night was just a dream. Memories of being perched outside the hollow, on the splintered branch in the daylight breeze, Avia learning how to fly while Mum and Da where asleep. Something an owlet should never do. During this time two owls who looked like Da came and landed on the branch, one was very pale while the other was a little darker. The owls had told her they were just going to play with Avia and that they are friends of Zava and Jax. Eve and Avia thought they had made two new friends, they lied, and they had tried to forcefully take Avia with them. Avia being boisterous defended himself as best as he could. But it was not enough, the owls quickly homed in on him like a dart, backing him up against the tree trunk, terror consumed him as he tried to lash out but it was no use he felt himself going yeep as he slipped off the side of the branch. As he fell one of the owl lunged forward slashing his chest open. His limp, lifeless body tumbled through the air, hitting the branches on the way down, wings in an awkward position, blood spraying everywhere, it was a horrific sight.

Eve slowly opened her eyes to an empty nest next to her, she could feel the cold realty hit her as it all came crashing back. She blinked slowly, using her third eyelid she cleared her eyes, focusing back on the empty nest Eve gazed in shock as Avia was really gone and it wasn't just her dream. Another memory faded in to her confused mind which was already filled to the rim with questions. Being sucked into the memory her attention drifted elsewhere. An image of an owl faded into mind, a large owl perched in the opposite tree, one she had caught glimmers of standing in the light of the blistering sun. He was different than the other owls. An owl she had never seen before. This owl was black and brown; he had feathers that moved like the bristles of a fir tree in the warm breeze, strange deep coloured eyes that pierced into her soul. Eve was perplexed by it; she wasn't even sure if it was an owl. It must have been tree times her size. But she remembered talking with Altair and he had explained that there are owls beyond the Forest of Tyto. The only owls Eve had ever seen where owls that had very dark eyes she found it very hard to believe that there where owls who were different from tytos.

Eve drifted back out of her deep thoughts; suddenly a painful knot swelled up in her gizzard. "Avia!" shrieked Eve, ripping through the quietness of the hollow. All the owls shot to life instantly, snapping their heads towards Eve as she was seen crying.

"Ah! Eve! What is -" mumbled Altair as his voice faded to nothing before he could finish. Looking at Eve's tears his head slowly dipped down to where Avia usually slept. Slowly, a horrified expression crept into his feathered face. Speechless, Altair did not breathe, sounds of what he thought was a dream returned to him.

"That wasn't a dream, oh great Glaux why didn't I wake up!" screamed Altair in his thoughts, the sound could be heard echoing into the deepest depths of his mind.

"A-Avia?" slowly spoke Altair but with no resonance.

Altair felt a dreadful twist in his gizzard as he could not take his eyes off the empty nest. He felt himself become desperate as his breathing grew heavier by the second. He thought that maybe Avia had just fallen out of the nest; he was down in the vegetation, hiding, and waiting for his warmth. His second thought, which brought a dread so painful he thought he would yeep while standing still was that maybe Mark and his family had done something to poor Avia. He never trusted them or Eve.

Eve on the other hand had to tell Altair of what she saw; she would not feel like a sister to him if she did not tell him. But the owls said not to speak a word of what she saw to any one, otherwise they would come back. The memory of the two large owls, as big as her parents landing in front of her on the branch quickly faded back into Eves mind.

"_Young'un, I ask that you say nothing," solemnly said the old owl as he gazed coldly at Eve._

_Eve began to cry as she dared not to breath, feeling herself go limp in the legs. _

"_Indeed, say something and we will be back." threatened the younger owl turning his back taking into the thick warm air with a single down stoke, following the older owl._

_Eve watched as they disappeared into the glare of the sun, the brightness was blinding, she wished she could have watched them for longer. _

Eve then wondered why they didn't take her as well. She thought that nothing stopped them from killing her too. But those where some of the few questions that floated around in her mind, who were those owls? Why did they look like her family yet they were so mean? And who was that owl with the sticking up objects on his head? Was he part of them?

Snapping out of her dream like state again she felt the need to tell her older brother, the urge screaming in her head. She felt herself splitting from the contrition of not doing anything to help Avia. She was worried that the owls would come back, come back to kill him, or even herself and Mum and Da.

"A-Av-via…" said Altair under his breath quietly to himself. Lifting his head slowly he gave Eve a cold empty stare deep into her black eyes. What was left of the morning light shone softly on one side of his face while Eve stood in the darkness glaring at Avia's nest in despair. Altair began to wonder if Eve, Mark and his family started all this mess. He wondered if Eve really did care, was she just pretending to miss Avia?

Eve tilted her head up, her expression saturated with grief. She took a quick glance at Altair then at the floor dropping her wings down. She desperately thought, with her mind in chaos she couldn't think straight she did not know what to do or say. She thought she would be better off not saying anything at all.

"D-Did you," stuttered Altair under his breath out of sheer anguish, his gaze boring into Eve, trying to find answers, answers to the millions of questions he had in his head. He didn't want to complete his sentence; it was too painful to say the words. He then thought it was uncomfortable to even think that his own sister would do such a thing with that horrible masked owl.

Suddenly the noise of talons scratching the dry bark outside grabbed Altair's attention. He thought that maybe it was someone who knew where Avia was, or it was someone with Avia or worst of all it was Mark. But listening to the heartbeat he knew it was Jax.

"I'll find him!" said Jax in mid-flight determined to find Avia.

"Great Glaux, where is my little Avia!" shrieked Zava looking down at Avia's nest. Altair looked at his Mum graving, he shared her pain; he could feel it cutting deep into him. He had hoped that maybe he fell from the nest and was hiding in the under growth somewhere trying to keep warm, siting quite hoping that Mum and Da would find him.

Altair's gaze glanced at Zava in sorrow and then snapped back to Eve who took a step backwards into the darkness pressing her feathers closer to her body, disheartened he threw one last gloomy glance at her then hastily skipped across the hollow before taking a short flight in silence out onto the end of the splintered branch. He landed with a wobble, gripping onto the dry bark he stabilised himself as he took a deep breath. Titling his head upwards he gazed at the endless sea of stars that poked through the clouds and fog every so often, it made his problems feel insignificant compared to the vastness of the sky, even for an owl of the night sky.

"You are the only one who can answer this, is my brother out here?" softly begged Altair, his words faded into the immeasurable foggy landscape, his gazed fixed on the rising moon surrounded by fast rolling clouds, the light breeze gently pushing his newly fledged feathers. The eerie stillness of the night made him think; think deeply as he looked out across the vast canopy of trees covered in fog that faded into one colour, cold grey.

Eve stayed quite as she stood in the darkest corner of the hollow motionless, watching Altair standing in solitude against the grey sky made a tear come to her eye as she heard Altair. Zava then came over wrapping her wings around Eve. Eve felt warm for once, it as if the warmth could never come back after what she had seen. Ever since last day Eve had felt distant from everyone, a feeling as if she didn't know the owls around her.

"Jax will find Avia, don't you worry Eve," softly sobbed Zava.

Eve did not know what to do, so she remained silent, she thought it was the best thing she could do at the time.

Jax glided through the endless see of trees that kept fading in from out the dark depths of the forest. Scanning across the misty ground below he began to turn his head one way then the other. Triangulating and examining every sound and tree he swiftly flew by silently hoping he would spot Avia. He had flown out quite far now as the trees began to thin out, indicating they were coming to the most southern point of the Forest Kingdom of Tyto where the land would end and the unknown ocean would begin. Gliding, weaving through the trees Jax began to feel that the longer he had spent searching for Avia the more he felt his heart fall into his gizzard. If he had known better he'd think he'd yarp up his own heart from the pain of missing a much loved one. Just as Jax was thinking of flying up to perch on the branches of a thin slender tree he heard a scuffle on the ground, sounded like it was in the rotten thee stump below. He quickly ducked his head around and under his right wing. It was a false alarm as he spotted a rodent run out from the stump and among the vegetation. Sighing with dread Jax banked hard to the left, curving around to head back, again he began to scan the ground with the small flicker of hope he still had burning away in his gizzard. Just as he stopped scanning the ground and had given up hope he heard a high pitched 'Hooo-wii!' to the right of him. He ignored it at first, but then a thought stuck his mind, the owl he had just heard was certainly not a tyto. He then landed on a low branch that stood out. Gripping on what little bark it had he began to franticly look around, listening for any signs of Avia. 'Oohu-oohu-oohu!' another sudden noise came out from the darkness, this noise was higher pitched then the last and quicker too. It was if this unknown owl was trying to grab his attention anyway it could. Jax finally spun his head to where exactly he heard the owl. He was shocked to see it was a large Eurasian eagle owl perched in a slightly higher branch in the opposite tree. The owl was looking right at him with his deep golden orange eyes; he had a very interesting plumage. He was mostly black and caramel brown, the tips of his secondary flight feathers where a light caramel brown the same as his face. The lower half of his body was covered in black soot.

What is an eagle owl doing in the middle of the Forest Kingdom of Tyto? Why is he so dirty? Why is he trying to catch my attention so badly? So many questions had filled Jax's mind, he could not think straight if he tried. For all he knew this owl could have something to do with Avia's strange disappearance.

"Who are you? Do you know where Avia is?" blindly asked Jax out of desperation. He wouldn't dare to go near the owl, he was huge, double his size.

"A white Tyto?" simply questioned the owl almost instantly as he eyeballed Jax. Taking a deep breath he continued, "Almost fully fledged owlet who looks like you?" The owl had a rough voice compared to Jax.

Jax's gizzard lurched in shock from the sharp description; he got it pretty much spot on, from that moment his trust for this Owl took a dive. He was clearly not from here yet he knew exactly what Jax was talking about in a blink of an eye, this gave him another reason not to trust the huge owl.

"Yes, Yes, Avia! I am his father!" desperately said Jax as he moved about eagerly on the branch almost slipping off. The owl cringed as he thought Jax was going to fall off.

When the owl heard that Jax was the owlets father he looked down at the vegetation below in trepidation. Jax had hopped he knew where Avia was, but from the owls latest reaction his gizzard gave painful lurch as he stared down at his dark talons in disappear. To him Avia felt distant yet so close, he was there one night and then gone the next, so quickly, without any warning or knowing of what happened. After some time the owl sighed deeply.

"I know," quietly said the owl taking a deep breath before he peered up at Jax for a moment then looked back down, Jax's head jerked upwards as he waited, all eager ears, waiting for the bad news. "I know, what happened to your son," said the owl with a sterner tone as he fixed his dark orange eyes with the sorrow behind Jax's. "Your son, Avia, I saw him in the middle of the day. I had wondered why he was out at such a young age on his own. I watched him from afar obscured by the light of the sun; you live up in that tall fir tree with the splintered branch. You tytos are night owls, I know that. He was almost there, he could almost fly but then he got stuck on a branch on another tree," explained the owl as he remembered it clearly. Jax almost didn't want to hear of what happened next, he couldn't bare it anymore, but he did. "Then, _they_ came." darkly said the owl taking another deep breath after, Jax could clearly see this owl was much older than himself as he kept taking a break to think. He remembered being told that eagle owls could live to 60 years.

Jax sharply gazed at the owl with an unyielding stare. What did this owl mean by _'they'_? And who was this owl? In his mind he demanded to know.

"Never seen the owls in my life," said the owl as he shifted from one foot to the other as if he was agitated. "But all I know is that they were all… _Tytos," _said the owl as he hesitated then finally spat the last word. Jax got the drift that this owl didn't like Tytos but at that point he really didn't care, he just wanted Avia back. Jax eyeballed him carefully "They came and tried to take your son alive, killing him because he didn't cooperate," the owl had finally said it, the words echoed through Jax's mind as an eerie stillness came down heavy on the two owls. He couldn't believe it; Avia was _murdered_ by another tyto. Jax didn't want to believe it, he felt himself become very light he thought he was going to faint. "Hold on there, don't faint on me," reinsured the owl in his more relaxed and natural tone, as he was glad to get that off his chest.

"Don't faint?" thought Jax to himself, how could he not faint after he had just heard that his son was slaughtered?

Ignite stood still for a brief moment as he could see the emotions building up in Jax, he was blinking a lot. "He didn't go down without a good fight, regardless of him not being able to fly. But that little one, the female owlet from your hollow, she watched the whole thing." coldly said the owl cocking his head to the side as he looked at Jax for answers as to why that was so.

A chill froze over Jax's feathers, he gasped, gazing into space, motionless, shocked, his gizzard twisted in a way it had never done before. It could feel every feather and bone in his body lose its weight. He thought it was going to go yeep while perching on the branch. His thoughts then drifted off slightly as he began to think about Mark and Eve.

"Why, why did you do nothing?" shrieked Jax as it echoed deep into the darkness, everything in the forest grew still from the noise, the noise even shocked the owl who seemed fearless.

"I couldn't, that younger one was with them, staring at me, watching if I made a move. These tytos where like the mist, they came and then left, it seemed like seconds." said the owl in a small voice, Jax glared at him, speechless.

What did this owl mean by _"that younger one was with them"_?Did Eve organise the murder of her brother? Jax was horrified.

The noises in the forest began to pick up again as silence feel once more across the land.

"What _is_ your name?" demanded Jax throwing a tumultuous look at the owl.

"My name?" asked Ignite taking a deep breath. "My name is _Ignite_, I am a blacksmith, explaining why I am covered in soot," boldly said Ignite as he ruffled his feathers to shake the soot off, trying to make himself more presentable, "And, I believe we should both head back to your hollow to check on the young'uns," added Ignite assuring Jax as he nodded, looking deep into Jax's troubled eyes.

"I am Jax," said Jax with a timid voice.

Ignite could not bear to watch this powerless owl cry for his chick, he wanted to stay clear as he saw himself a simple folk but this was something he felt deep in gizzard that he must do. As if it was a calling it was as if he knew these owls from long ago.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter three: The calling**

"Something is brewing out there, I can feel it in my gizzard," thought Ignite to himself, shifting his gaze to Jax sitting ghostlike in the darkness with all his white feathers. This oddly reminded Ignite of the two barns owls that killed Avia who were also very light in colour.

Recapping through his memory Ignite began to wonder about the origins of the owls he watched last day, remembering them both in detail he recalled them addressing each other as Commander Arxcis and Lieutenant Tytoden. Remembering vividly how Arxcis killed Avia brought chills into his feathers from head to tail.

Cocking his head to the side, Ignite threw a wing towards Jax in a lazy manner. "Eh, is it possible those owls could have been, well, I hate to say it. Do you think those owls were Pure Ones? Since I remember them calling each other by their ranks," questioned Ignite shuddering from the sheer thought of those owls as he tucked his great wing back against feathery side.

Thinking deeply, Ignite was certain that those owls where Pure Ones and his mind wasn't going to change. His past with those abominable owls eight years ago was enough to make his gizzard quake with anger. Sighing Jax shook his head slowly as to instantly disagree with Ignite.

"No, no. That's impossible. They all died in the War of the Embers," said Jax jerking his head up promptly to listen, a demonic high pitched, ear-splitting shriek raked through the forest, forcing the creatures of the night to go quite as they quivered back to the undergrowth.

Ignites feathers rippled from the cry. Snapping his head at Ignite Jax gave horrified stare as he froze in his place. Ignite was mostly concerned than anything else with his ear tuffs stood on end.

"Good Glaux! What was that!" flabbergasted Ignite breaking the silence with a high pitched.

Both owls where now looking deeply into the direction of the noise. Jax felt like his had exploded within him, he knew instantly that the cry was Zava. Yet it stood frozen to the branch.

Ignite whirled his head around to Jax, "Well? Let's go!" hooted Ignite twitching to take off, leaning forward he spread his wings out, exposing the think fluffy caramel feathers around his legs and sides. Yes Jax didn't move at all, instead he gazed deeply into the nothingness.

"That was the cry of a barn owl, from the hollow!" hooted Ignite lifting into the misty gloom he began pumping his wings with all his strength like an owl possessed, he acted as if his own family was in danger. Picking up great speed within seconds he weaved stylishly through the maze of trees before him. Making miniscule adjustments he twitched and flicked his tail to make sharp and precise movements to guide his huge frame around the tall trees luckily for him the trees that grew in the Forest Kingdom of Tyto where practically branchless much lower down.

"Great Glaux! I am not a forest dweller," rumbled Ignite to himself being extremely cautious of the slender trees around him.

Jax gawked at him as he stood petrified on the branch, drowning in terror of what he might see at the hollow. Ignite turned his head around to throw a glance at Jax to see him just standing there.

"What are you? A sloth? Get moving!" boomed Ignite twisting his head back around to focus on the trees ahead of him, the last thing he wanted was an unnoticed branch whipping his eye clean out of his skull as he had heard from other owls.

Jax jolted suddenly as if he just woke up, tripping over he used his wings to balance himself as he dug his talons into the dry bark. Looking out towards Ignite flying away from him at great speed his body became limp as if he lost all his weight. For all he knew his family could be dead at the talons of those horrible owls. Having no other choice he heaved his body forcefully into the cold night air as if his body weighted a ton. Something did not feel right, flying no longer felt natural to him. Being so shaken up he could hardly get sight of Ignite let alone fly straight to follow him, Ignites figure was beginning to blur in with the trees that surround him. Wobbling from side to side in the air Jax tried to shake the horrendous images out of his mind, the horrid images of what could have become of his mate and owlets. He began to push all thoughts a side and set himself on saving his family, as he did this he felt himself returning to reality. From out of the nothingness he began to pick up voice by voice as they each cleared from the noise. He heard the designative voices of his family and then he heard the voices of what sounded like two other barn owls which harsher tones.

Jax narrowed his eyes, "Arxcis and Tytoden you will pay," slowly breathed out Jax under his breath in anger. His heavy breathing like smoke in the icy air, for Jax the forest had become dead to him and ice and death seemed like the only things in the air tonight.

Swiftly approaching the aged tree that was known as home from behind, Ignite ahead caught sight of some owls he recognised. It was Arxcis and Tytoden! Suddenly Ignite broke the wind like a sail as he spread his immense wings out across the forest; slowing down rapidly Jax almost flew directly into his back.

Ignite spun his head to the side to talk to Jax, "Shh, I saw them, they have your family cornered in the hollow; there are two of them, the ones from before, Zava is badly hurt, I think she might be dying, hear that breathing," whispered Ignite quietly as possible keeping in mind how sanative barn owls hearing is. Shocked, the words came out in blocks of speech between breaths.

Jax hovered for a moment as he began to focus his earing, using the muscles in his facial disc and ears he blocked out the noises from the creatures of the forest, carefully listening into to the situation inside the hollow. He could hear whimpering of his chicks and Zavas heavy raspy breathing. Ignite up ahead waved a wing at Jax to tell him to follow as he flew swiftly behind the thickest trees available in the area. Looking right and left for a branch where he could get a good view of the hollow without the other owls hearing or seeing him.

"I-I see them," trembled Jax as he landed roughly on the closest branch to him without even looking at it, he almost slipped off in the process as his eyes were busy locked onto the owls outside his hollow. Jax's talons made a rough noise on the dry bark; Tytoden twitched his head in their direction as Ignite took a deep to not make a noise.

But Tytoden overlooked it and proceeded to whack Eve back inside with his wing as she tried to push her way out. Jax also flinched as he watched helpless.

"Hay! Let me out meanie!" screeched Eve as she waved her wing about in his face.

"Shut it you lot in there!" snapped Arxcis turning his head to look inside the hollow. "I am trying to think."

"No make me!" screeched Eve followed by a hiss as she held her threat display. "Thinking looks like it hurts!"

Jax cringed as he dared not to watch as Arxcis then turned around to face Eve. Ignite watched as if he was holding his breath.

"Who are to trying to scare? Get back in there!" cynically said Arxcis whacking Eve hard in the side of the head with his foot, scratching her lightly in the process as she flew backwards into the hollow she shrieked in pain as her wing folded backwards under her back.

Jax almost jumped off the branch before Ignite silently spread his wing out to stop him without saying a word.

"Stop it Eve, do as he says, otherwise we are all dead," cried Altair covering Zava with his wing.

"Indeed, young one. Indeed," said Arxcis coldly as he glanced over at Altair.

Zava lay down in Eves nest, pushed up against the soft wood wall with Eves carvings of the Guardians now covered in blood. She was bleeding heavily where Arxcis had stuck her chest wide open with his razor sharp battle claws; the blood was all over the floor and nest. Eve scampered with her sore limp wing across the hollow to behind Altair tucking in next to her Mum, both shaking with fear. Altair stood like a rock as he was the only thing between these evil owls and his family. He was ready for anything.

"Where is Jax? Who are you owls? Why did you murder Avia?" boldly screeched Altair throwing questions at Arxcis, demanding an answer from the old, ragged battle scared owl.

Arxcis slowly began to step towards Altair as he tried to intimidate him. With each step he took his battle claws clashed against the branch. Altair stood confident; he thought that he would not give in to this cruel owl's pressure. As Arxcis took his first step into the hollow Altair spread his wings out to protect his family.

Arxcis came to a sudden stop and breathed out slowly, "You are brave young one, come with me and you'll be shown a greater purpose as a Tyto. Leave this hollow, you no longer need your family," persuaded Arxcis.

Altair narrowed his eyes at Arxcis; he couldn't believe what this owl just told him. He then thought it through for a moment, something in his mind clicked, something that his parents had told not so long ago, when he was Eves age.

As he remembered he looked intensely at Arxcis, "Y-your Pure Ones aren't you?" said Altair as his voice trailed off into a whisper out of complete devastation. His gaze wondered off as he felt his gizzard fill with dread.

Jax had been listening carefully to the owls, he heard everything and he was shocked. Ignite landed on the skinny branch shaking a leaf or two off, Jax flinched his wings almost taking off out of paranoia of the branch snapping, as Jax flexed his wings out he brushed them against the bristles of the pine tree. Jax sighed looking at Ignite with anxiety in his eyes.

"They are _so_ not going to hear that," sarcastically whispered Ignite under his breath, glancing at Jax as he froze trying not the breath.

Tytoden spun his head around, instantly catching sight of Jax and Ignite, bobbing his head in a circle to get a good look patting Arxcis on the back with his wing he was certain it was the eagle owl from before.

"I knew it," whispered Tytoden to himself, "Arxcis, look, it's that owl again," said Tytoden pointing a wing at Ignite since he was the largest of the owls.

Arxcis turned around to take a look as Tytoden tucked his wings back at his sides with a smug look on his face directed at Ignite who narrowed his eyes to orange slits in response.

"And so it is," said Arxcis joyfully. "Who is that owl? He is not from here," continued Arxcis coldly as he narrowed his eyes at the two owls, looking at the broken family owls within the hollow again he noticed that the family did not have a father. He had wondered for some time where the father was. "And that tyto next to him is their Da," added Arxcis, his murderous gaze returned back to the two owls.

"Racdrops, we've been spotted!" boomed Ignite as he nudged Jax with his wing almost knocking him off the branch.

Locking eyes with Arxcis's, Jax felt the anger build inside him, he felt like he wanted to scream but he knew he would be butchered. But it was too late the words had slipped out of him.

"Who do you think you are killing Avia!" screeched Jax from the branch, Arxcis cold gaze grew even colder as he shifted his feet, narrowing his eyes.

"Are you yoicks! We don't want them over here, look; they have battle claws for Glaux sakes! We'll be killed!" snapped Ignite slapping Jax on the back knocking him off one foot.

Jax rebalanced himself on the branch then looked down at Arxcis's feet; he indeed saw shiny claws casing his feet, the same with the younger one. Looking up he looked into Arxcis eyes once more, he felt that he was the one to be careful about; he seemed menacing, covered in scars, old and new scars all over his body, his feathers where all in taters compared to the smooth feathers of Tytoden. Even Tytoden wasn't as smooth as Jax.

"Why? What are you going to do about it you worthless Tyto?" spat Arxcis enjoying every second of it.

"Worthless? Worthless is for owls such as you, never me or my family!" boldly spoke as he threw a glance over at the hollow for a split second but only saw Tytoden guarding the entrance; he knew if he couldn't see his family they couldn't see him but they could hear each other.

Jax lifted into the air giving all he could into one down stroke, all his determination. Ignite watched with wide eyes, he could feel Jax's resolve in his own gizzard. He was off like a projectile towards Arxcis. He was going to protect his family no matter what the costs where.

"Jax, no!" shrieked Ignite as he stretched a wing out after Jax getting ready to take flight bur it was too late, Jax faded into the light mist that began to flood across the forest. It was almost as if the mist symbolised how far Jax had gone.

As Jax took flight into the thick cloudy night sky Arxcis tracked him as if he where prey, watching him closely with stone cold eyes full of callous intent, his head moved smoothly as Jax came across the open sky above the trees like a ghost. Shifting his weight Arxcis expected Jax to go for a drive kill for his head or chest. Jax tilted into a dive, threw his legs out in front of him and extended his talons out wide. Jax could feel his gizzard burning away into the wind, burning with a mixture of doubt of himself and revenge for Avia; he knew he was very inexperienced compared to Arxcis. Arxcis must have been double the age, on top of having battle claws and far more experience in combat. Jax could hear his family calling out for him whom faded out as he went in for the kill; wind was the only thing he could hear now. Arxcis hopped back off the branch, backstroking he took wing to the air, watching Jax buckle he drove his talons right into the thick dry bark. In a split second Jax had lost his bearings, he couldn't work out where Arxcis went. Looking up Arxcis floated down above him striking down, down his face and upper chest, tearing deep into his flesh tearing out his eye in the process. A sharp shrill filled the night air as blood sprayed downwards, spattering across the branch and hitting the vegetation below like heavy rain. Jax, almost lifeless stumbled towards Arxcis in a delusional state as he still attempted to slash at him with his talons even with his grave injuries. But his slashes where off target and weak as he struggled to keep balance and see through just one eye. Arxcis laughed to himself as he lightly pushed Jax off the branch with his clawed foot. With empty eyes Jax plummeted hitting the bushy branches on the way down. Arxcis's battle claws where drenched in blood as he walked to the edge of the branch, looking down he watched as Jax hit the ground disappearing into the damp ferns below. He didn't show any self-reflection.

Shocked, Ignite paused in motion of taking off with his wings slightly out from his sides. He watched Jax's lifeless body plummet through the branches in total horror. As soon as Ignite heard Jax's body hit the damp ground he paused in silence, gazing deeply at the body half hidden in the blood covered ferns. It was if the whole forest went quite. Ignite had only known this great owl for no less than one night and now he was dead. Killed within seconds by an owl who thought his life wasn't worth two pellets, yet his life meant so much more to some owlets. There was even a possibility that he had also killed the mother since the heartbeat had completely stopped, so now the two remaining owlets had nothing. Slowly Ignite tipped his head up, setting his deep orange eyes on Arxcis, narrowing his eyes until they were slits in his feathered face.

"Tyto," said Ignite as he took a deep breath, he disliked tytos for many reasons. "I am certain that you are a Pure One; you two must be the few survivors of the War of the Embers, are you not?" Arxcis flinched at the question; Arxcis wondered how he knew, it was the first time he showed any emotions other than hateful ones.

Ignite rose and stood to his full height as he puffed himself up out of sheer anger and disgust. How could some of the Pure Ones still exist? It baffled Ignite; they must have fled when Nyra was killed. "I knew it, only you can kill an owl with no remorse, that owl, Jax. He was a good friend of mine, I had not known him for long, he cared for his family and yet you slaughtered one of the owlets, Avia, the mother and Jax all in cold blood!" hooted Ignite sternly. The whole situation reminded of what the St. Aggie's owls had done to his own parents, except he was taken away and escaped when the Pure Ones took over.

Arxcis still remained silent as he continued to give Ignite a deathly stare. "So, what do you have to say for yourself _almighty_ one? Don't you know how those owlets _feel_?" solemnly spoke Ignite with acid dripping from every word as had always wanted to say them for years.

Arxcis shuffled his clawed foot as he tightened his grip on the bark out of irritation. Ignite had struck some kind of nerve in the stone cold owls gizzard. Ignite then began to wonder what kind of life this owl had been living up until now as he looked quite old, just as old as himself.

"I know _exactly_ what it feels like, these owlets will be shown and given a great purpose," said Arxcis as he spun his head around, nodded at Tytoden who then nodded back. Arxcis remembered when he first joined the Pure Ones, he even recruited Tytoden.

Ignite then narrowed his eyes slightly at what Arxcis had just instructed Tytoden to do. "What is that owl thinking about now?" Ignite asked himself.

"You have no business here, now leave," ordered Tytoden in a huff. He wanted to get on with what he was ordered to do without interference.

Ignite looked down upon Arxcis as he spread his wings out, the two owls saw how big Ignite truly was. Even Arxcis knew he could quickly be at a disadvantage if he didn't play his tactics right when up against this owl. Folding them back into his sides Ignite ruffled his feathers up shook them all somewhat back into place again out of agitation. Glancing down at the blood stained ferns in which Jax's body laid he looked up again, fixing his gaze on Tytoden he began to wonder how exactly this barn owl was going to get him to leave, to leave the defenceless owlets in their talons. In Ignites mind and gizzard there was no way he was going to leave, even if his life depended on it. The owlets needed him; he was the only thing in the Pure Ones way of taking the owlets and forcing them into their ranks.

"Over my dead body almighty Pure One scum!" sarcastically spat Ignite as loud as he could; his hooting rang out across the forest. He noticed Arxcis turning sourer as every second passed while Ignite looked rather excited with his ear tuffs pointing straight up, Ignite was purposely trying to irritate Arxcis to get him away from the hollow.

"Tytoden! Bring the little one out!" screeched Arxcis as he could feel his anger growing in his gizzard, how dare this owl make a mock of him he thought, he wanted to make Ignite leave or else and so using Eve as a hostage was his idea.

Tytoden gave a light nod to Arxcis before going inside the hollow. He saw Eve pressed up against Altair in sheer fear in the corner of the hollow covered in blood with Zava dead behind them.

"Eve, you are coming with us now," softly said Tytoden as he held a wing out. Eve then saw no choice and walked on shaky legs to the entrance of the hollow with Tytoden. Eve then wondered how these owls knew her name.

"You've made the right choice Eve," reinsured Tytoden with a glint in his eye.

"Eve! What is wrong with you!" screeched Altair as he was stunned by how Eve just accepted it without question but Eve just turned her back to her brother. At that point Altair felt himself become light in the head.

"Still, you didn't answer my question; I guess you guys really don't have a gizzard to share between you. And using an owlet in that way, you do not deserve to be called an owl!" insulted Ignite spreading his massive wings out. With one powerful down stoke he was clear from the bushy tress behind him in no time. He projected himself towards Arxcis; who tried to react by taking off but it was too late, Ignite dug his talons into the right of Arxcis's chest and wing, pushing him off the branch as his talons plucked out of his body blood spurted out and followed him on his way down.

"T-Tytoden, get away!" shrieked Arxcis in pain on his way down, landing right next to Jax in the ferns.

Ignite then softly landed on the dry bark, he gave a hard stare at Tytoden and Eve from over his wing, "Tytoden eh, Scram, get out of here, and leave Eve alone you scum," harshly said Ignite shooing him away with his wing as he walked towards the hollow as if Tytoden was some kind of gull. "Also, touch her and your dead. OK?" threatened Ignite just as Tytoden looked at Eve with an idea in mind.

"This isn't the last time you'll see me," darkly said Tytoden as he took off, Ignite followed him with his squinted eyes, slowly turning his head as Tytoden gilded up into the stray night sky above then steeply dove into the canopy of trees to meet up with Arxcis.

Eve watched Tytoden leave without a word or emotion this made Ignite wonder of what she was thinking about.

"Whatever Tyto, next time we meet I'll tear your gizzard out if you have one," mumbled Ignite to himself under his breath before he turned away towards Eve. He patted Eve with his wing as if to tell her to go back into the hollow as he waited outside.

Inside the speckled blood-stained hollow he saw a gruesome sight of Altair standing in his mother's pool of blood, his lower body covered in it. Ignite sighed, looking away as he could no longer hear the beating of Zavas heart, she had died a slow painful death, it made him wish he was here sooner to help the owlets protect her. He then picked his gaze up and looked at Altair hissing at him, his wings became heavy as they slumped at his sides. He wondered if Altair even knew his mother was dead as he was still protecting her body. He was too big for the entrance of the hollow, but he thought even if he did go in there he'd be attacked for being one of those dreadful owls. Ignite sighed again and picked his wings up.

"Owlet, I am sorry for your mother's loss, but I am not one of those owls, I would never dream of harming your fam-" suddenly paused Ignite as a low ominous hiss emitted from Altair's beak.

"You are not fooling me; this is all part of the plan. You to Eve, you and Mark," harshly spoke Altair spinning his head around giving Eve a look full of hatred. Ignite then questioned in his mind who Mark was.

Altair grumpily slapped his wings back to his sides and began to make his way out of the hollow; he went to take another step but something sharp suddenly latched onto his lower leg. Eve clung onto her brother with dear life, pulling him back whenever he tried to lightly pull away without saying a word. Altair snapped his head to Eve, her eyes where glossy, they told not to leave her here. But he saw it as nothing more than a young Pure Ones ploy to stop him from leaving.

"Eve, stop wasting time," seriously said Altair sighing as he knew Arxcis would be back soon.

Even though Eve began to cry Altair looked down at her with hated in his eyes. He thought that she had planned it all Mark had most likely convinced her and got in contact with those owls; he thought they must have done some kind of deal with the Pure Ones. She was the first one Arxcis and Tytoden spoke to when they first arrived when Jax went out looking for Avia, before they attacked Zava for defending her owlets. So many questions had filled Altair's head at the time, he wondered why they had come to this hollow and none others. A moment went by before Eve scratched into Altair's leg as he pulled it up into his feathered body causing Eve to topple backwards onto the floor as Altair threw one last look at Eve before sighing deeply and breaking out into a run, hopped across the hollow pushing Ignite aside, he spread his wings out taking wing to the night air. Eve spread a wing out across the floor as a way to try and stop Altair from leaving, or tried to get one last touch before he disappeared. Eve cried out as she watched Altair fade off into the cloudy darkness of the night. Eve then laid her head facedown, she didn't want to look at her mother's body any more as it was a gruesome sight.

"Where's Da?" said Eve whimpering face down.

Ignite titled his head to the floor in sorrow, he didn't want to have to tell her.

"He died, Eve. Arxcis killed him," said Ignite with a sigh as he looked away.

Ignite was not sure what to do, he was stuck in the middle of the situation he never wanted to get involved with in the first place. But the feeling of calling, the feeling to protect had returned to him as he paid attention to Eve as she began to cry on the floor. The words of his best friend, Zoltus, an ex-guardian came back to him, "Ignite, you must help other when they most need you," He looked at Eve and then slowly shifted his head to look at Zava in the darkness. Dread crept over him, he had heard of things like this happening before when he was younger, back during the time of the Battle of Fire and Ice. But he never thought the Pure Ones would return. He looked at Eve once more, she laid face down crying, she was the only one left, and her whole family had been killed because of meaningless violence. Thinking about it made Ignites gizzard burn with fire. Something then grabbed his attention as he quickly turned his head to look out of the hollow. He heard voices, two of them down by where Jax rested.

"Arxcis and Tytoden," angrily spoke Ignite under his breath as he narrowed his eyes and looked out across the branch.

He looked toward Eve again; As Eve began to walk over Ignite spread his wing out and tapped her gently on the head.

"Eve," said Ignite. His voice was soft as he could make it, "Eve, we must get going, it is dangerous here."

Eve pushed her fledging wings against the ground and slowly got up to her feet, her feathers where all in a mess and she couldn't be bothered to preen them being so depressed. Ignite saw her suffering and stepped forward attempting to preen her himself. He thought to himself while he began to preen her fledging flight feathers, tucking each one neatly into its place. He would never imagine doing this to a tyto since last time he remembered he hated them with a passion. But Eve was special in his eyes, something was different about her but he couldn't quite put his talon on it. He now had to look after her like her Da and Mum would it was his calling. Moments later Eve's feathers looked somewhat better, although some of them they were still poking out this way and that around her breast. But it was good enough since she was an owlet who still had a lot of down on her wings, Ignite guessed that maybe she was about 10 days away from being able to fly. Ignite then flexed his body and tried to look eye level with Eve since she was so tiny compared to him, just making past his tail feathers.

"My name is Ignite, Eve. I have to take you away from here, far away where these owls will not find you. You can trust me; I am nothing like those owls. Also, since you cannot fly and you are still fledging for flight feathers I will have to carry you, you are small enough, so, " said Ignite as he all most spun his head completely around to listen.

"Go and get that owlet Tytoden," ordered Arxcis. He did not want to return with nothing.

Ignite heard Tytoden take off, crashing through the damp vegetation, he was not a quite flier.

"Racdrops, we are going now!" hooted Ignite.

Ignite began to push Eve softly along as quick as possible without hurting her, he pushed her to the ledge of the branch. Suddenly he saw Tytoden break through the thick canopy of trees to his right, his black stone cold eyes full of murderous intent locked onto Ignite. Darting upwards past the branch high into the starry sky above he came down into a dive extending his talons he flew at Ignite for a death blow. Ignite reacted by jumping into the air and taking wing, his talons locking with Tytoden's and with a massive effort Ignite threw Tytoden through the air. He rolled through the air in chaos as he tried to balance himself out.

"Get outta here you excuse of an owl!" spurted Ignite as he felt like he could yarp a pellet in Tytoden's face.

Ignite swiped Eve off the ground with both feet, gently wrapped his toes around her lifting off as quickly as possible, pushing his wings through the air he quickly picked up speed. He soon became too fast for Tytoden, the gap between the two rapidly began to widen yet he kept track, seconds later Arxcis joined in the chase as was proven to keep up even with his injuries that throbbed with each wing stroke. Ignite quickly dipped his head down to check on Eve, she was held by Ignite face down. He then looked forward again and began to put more effort into his flying as he started to push away from Arxcis who had started to get close to his tail feathers.

"Whhaaaa, I am flying!" screeched Eve as she begun to wiggle about in excitement. Ignite thought it was easy for her to say.

Eve could see the green canopy of fir trees for miles out as they faded into the mist that separated the forest and night sky covered in pins of light that gently sparkled in the darkness. The waning gibbous moon could be seen peeking over the horizon and through the mist. Eve spun her head around to look behind her up at Ignite; she watched the concentration on his face as he flew with determination.

"We are not out of the woods yet, so don't get excited just yet, also stop moving about down there, we still have these goons after us," explained Ignite breathing heavy, he didn't mean to sound harsh it was just the way he was.

Eve flexed her head to look behind Ignite catching sight of the old scraggy barn owl followed by Tytoden who found it hard to keep up.

"Arxcis, he is too fast," complained Tytoden.

"You are right," said Arxcis sighing as he banked hard to the right followed by Tytoden.

"Ignite! Their gone, their gone!" said Eve wiggling her crushed tail feathers around trying to grab Ignites attention.

"I know, I know. Stop moving around down there. It could be a poly of theirs," said Ignite.

Eve went quite; she didn't even know what a ploy was.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter four: A new home**

Flying silently above the Forest Kingdom of Tyto, Eve could feel the frosty wind curling around the tips of her flight feathers as she glided effortlessly through the midnight sky; inhaling the fresh air she breathed it out slowly creating soft smoke that faded into the frigid air. The air was bitterly cold yet energizing, she felt free as any fully fledged owl. Feeling calm her gaze leisurely moved smoothly across the immense canopy of fir trees, they seemed endless to her as they faded off into the mist. She never realised how remarkable it felt to be able to soar through the sky. Mist rose up from the darkness blurring out the waning gibbous moon and stars. Looking across her wing she saw no down. Her flight almost seemed to move in an automatic fashion as she didn't have to think about it.

"I- I Am flying!" exclaimed Eve excited as she peered down into the darkness below, looking at the vegetation through the canopy of trees. With her acute hearing she could make out various noises being made under the vegetation below.

Suddenly the moon began to slowly turn a deep blood red, small droplets of blood appeared on its surface. Horrified, Eves gaze slowly looked towards the moon as if she hesitated to look at first; blinking a few times she saw blood pouring down the moon, dipping off its rim as the droplets fell through the sky and disappearing into the darkness of the forest. Suddenly she heard an ominous screech that filled her head, echoing it surrounded her, her ears could not locate the sound. She suddenly snapped her head towards the moon in fear as she thought the moon was making the noise. Squinting she suddenly saw an almost completely white barn owl with feathers in tatters come forth out from the gory blood red moon. He had the eyes of a blood thirsty killer. Eve's thoughts took a confusing spin inside her head as she could have sworn she had seen this owl before. Everything was unreal, her body began to shake with fear that she could not control, the same fear she felt when she saw Arxcis killed her brother. Watching the owl come closer to her with his legs out stretched in front of her, with his talons spread out encased in gleaming metal claws that where drenched in blood that shone in the red glow of the moon. Seeing that same murderous glint in his eyes Eve instantly knew it was Arxcis, there was no other owl like him, and he was pure evil. Her eyes grew wide as she instantly began to panic, she desperately felt the need to fly away as fast as she could, but she felt her body lose its weight and her wings fixed in their places.

"There you are, you cannot fly away from me forever you belong to us," sinisterly said Arxcis as he reached out for Eve.

"No, no, go away!" screeched Eve as she frantically tried to fly away but she was going nowhere, time around her seemed to have stood still, and it was as if the air itself had a grip of her.

Before Eve could go yeep she began to feel very warm, a strange warm heat began to make its way through her feathers, warmer than her cuddling up to Zava; this heat was as warm as when she roosted outside the hollow in the sun. The heat began to wrap all around her, it made her feel safe as Arxcis began to disperse like sand in the wind.

"Is he a scroom?" softly asked Eve in bewilderment as she blinked a few times, clearing the dirt from her eyes with her third eyelid she felt herself became calm but also speechless from what she was seeing unfold before her.

As Arxcis's battle claws where just about to dig and tear into Eves flesh his whole body turned into sand that rained down on her as it was blown and tossed away in the wind. She began to feel her wings grow heavy as she started to plummet, falling out of the sky the forest became bigger and vaster as she fell, tumbling through the air. Feeling her panic picked up again.

"Ah, what is going on?" screeched Eve in fear as she desperately tried to get a grip of the air with her wings but it was if there was none. It was almost as if she were just an owlet again.

Eve splashed into the canopy of trees as they turned to water, sinking through the water the forest around her began to slowly fade to black. This water was strange, she could see bubbles and the off tint of blue but she could breathe. She remembered seeing a large body of water from her hollow, her parents would often say that large bodies of water like that where dangerous to an owl such as herself because of the oils in the feathers. She thought that she should have hit the floor by now but she kept trying to cling onto the image in her mind, but the details began to wash out as they blurred into a single colour, black. Then a striking noise of something heavy hitting metal every second became louder and louder as if it was fast approaching, echoing in her mind, with each hit she shook and the feeling of sinking faded. As the noise rang in Eves ear slits the image of the forest slipped from her mind as her gizzard twisted with dread. Jolting her eyelids open the first thing she saw was grey stone glowing ambient orange in front of her. She cocked her head to the side in awe. What a strange colour. Where was she?

"A dream?" said Eve questioning herself as she started to breathe heavily. "That noise," added Eve whispering in wonder as she began to bob her head about. "Where am I?" added Eve whispering again as she began to slowly look around as if she was scared to move. Did Arxcis and Tytoden take her away? Did they kill Ignite to take her while she fell unconscious?

She looked down and noticed she was sitting in a poorly constructed twig nest covered in caramel down which was very different from before. The down wasn't as soft as back at home, it had a slight wire feel to it and the twigs where different too. She remembered her parents saying to her one time that it was very rare for owls to make nests and that they would often make nests out of those already made from other birds. Looking up Eve felt a little braver as she slowly spun her head all the way around scanning the walls carefully, it was the same colour all around her, light grey, stony walls with patches of charcoal coloured soot that had layered over time on the small cropping's and ledges in the stone. The walls where made up of lots of stones put together to make a dome. Directly above here small roots grew through the stone and hung down.

"Wa, w-where am I?" stuttered Eve daring not to utter a word at first just encase Arxcis was nearby. Taking another look around the wall she whispered, "This is funny lookin'," something which Eve and her brothers would say often, first said by Avia.

Eve felt like she was safe, at least she was away from her horrid dream, she had never had a dream like that, and it was so very surreal. This place was very strange and new to her. She had never seen anything like it. Turning her head to the direction of the hammering she saw a small entrance about the same size as her coated in soot, light and heat steadily flowed from it. A large flat stone acted as a wall separated the two compartments next to the entrance; the compartment she was in was very small, just big enough for Eves nest. The second compartment was much larger and it was there the hammering had echoed from.

"Is this also part of the dream?" Eve asked herself as she slowly picked herself up from the nest.

Taking everything slowly Eve began to gawk at the entrance, thinking weather or not she should move from her place; standing on shaky legs she gradually approached the entrance. Bracing herself of what she might see around the corner. She cleaned her eyes with her third eyelid and slowly poked her head around the corner with wide eyes that watered slightly from sensitivity to the bright light. The first thing she felt was scorching heat and light that shone brightly onto her face, lighting her facial disc. She saw a huge black and brown owl who stood before a glowing flat tray of coals with a shovel at the side, he was engulfed in the light and heat in which began to dry Eves eyes out. Looking close at the owl she saw two strange feathers on his head that moved about each time he struck a glowing sheet of metal over an anvil with his flat face hammer in one foot and in the other he held flat jawed tongs that he used to keep the sheet of metal in place. The anvil was placed on an old tree stump that had been smoothed down on the top to fit the anvil on a flat surface.

A flashback hit her like lighting when the images began to fade into her mind. Images of seeing a large owl sitting in glare of the sun on a branch opposite from her family's hollow. The light burned into her dark eyes. She remembered how odd he looked, it was the first time she had ever seen an eagle owl or any owl other than a tyto. Then another memory of her laying on the floor crept in, fading into her mind, feeling the gritty dirt in her feathers of her facial disc she turned her head to see Ignite standing in the hollows entrance and Altair beside her with Zava dead in the corner.

This owl was the same owl who saved her from Arxcis and Tytoden, she remembered him carrying her across The Forest Kingdom of Tyto then across a strange blue plain that looked like what she saw in her dream, it made a strange noise, the noise of bad feather and choppy ocean. Ignite had travelled all night across the vast unknown, south from the Forest Kingdom of Tyto in the pouring rain and blustering winds that lashed at the ocean. Arxcis and Tytoden did not dare to cross the vast ocean as from the edge of the Forest Kingdom of Tyto no owl knew what was across the water. Most said an endless ocean and nothing more. Arxcis and Tytoden expected that Eve and Ignite where going to die attempting to cross the ocean.

Eve squinted one of her eyes, the dry heat scorching her eyes became too much. She turned away back into her small section of the cave, the heat lifted off her feathers as it became cooler. On her part of the cave there where small gaps between the stones, cold air would seep in. She could breathe normally again, she began to question herself how that owl could ever withstand the heat, she had never felt anything like it.

"Ignite!" cried out Eve from behind the wall trying to grab his attention without stepping out into the heat. The heat was too much for her.

"Ah! Eve! You're awake!" joyfully said Ignite leaving the glowing sheet of metal and tongs on the anvil he walked over, turning to Eve he hung his hammer up on a metal hook behind him on the wall that divided the two sections. He could only see the side of Eve as she tucked herself on the inside wall. "You know you've been asleep all last night and all day," continued Ignite trying to peer in a little.

"Really?" wondered Eve in wonder.

Ignite then walked back over and picked his tongs up then swapped them over to his other foot to pick up the now straightened sheet of metal, he turned it over a bit to have a look at the job he had done before bringing it across the anvil and completely submerging it into a metal bucket of water on the left of his anvil.

"Yes, it was tough, nasty weather out north from here. The worst night I could have brought you back," said Ignite, his voice was than engulfed by a loud sizzle was let out as the hot metal caused the water to bubble ferociously.

"Those owls wouldn't dare to cross the Zephyr Ocean in that weather, not with the condition of their feathers where in anyway. I don't think they have ever preened themselves," said Ignite in a louder tone of voice to talk over the dying sizzling from the water as the metal cooled down.

Eve did not listen as she instantly wilfed from the loud noise, pressing her body against the flat stony wall trying to make herself as slim as possible, the wall was much cooler then she thought and it made her relax.

"So I battled against the weather to bring you here, it was hard but I knew it had to be done, the wind currents almost took me in at one point," continued Ignite, talking about his journey back as he pulled the sheet of metal back out of the water and placed it on top of the bucket and placed his tongs on top of the metal sheet.

"What was that noise?" anxiously questioned Eve with her eyes closed. She had no idea what Ignite was doing and all the heat, light and noises scared her. She wasn't even sure what he was talking about. Battling the weather? Wind currents? She couldn't see how you could fight weather or knew what a wind current was.

Ignite sighed as he began to think it was a bad idea to bring Eve into his forge, he had tried to protect her from it all by placing her in a small section of the cave. But it was either here or out in the misty freezing cold. Ignite then walked over to the entrance of the small cave and poked his head in, twisting it to the side he looked at Eve. His face was covered in soot, just his orange eyes beamed from his face. Eve slowly opened her eyes and gazed at him as her feathers slowly puffed back out into her usual shape, gently taking herself away from the surprisingly cool stone wall she didn't take her eyes of Ignite. Her eyes fixed onto the dirt on Ignites face.

"W-w-what is it?" laughed Ignite amused at how shocked Eve looked; she was so still, her dark unblinking eyes stared right at him.

Eve was still amazed by the sight of Ignite, he was huge, and his eyes and ear tuffs look funny to Eve.

"You look funny," giggled Eve, wiggling about as she usually did when she was excited, laughing at the soot on Ignites face.

"Oh, what, this?" questioned Ignite lifting a foot, pointing a talon to his face. Eve gave an exaggerated nod, shaking her whole head.

Ignite thought it would be a funny idea to copy Eve and rapidly shook his whole head completely from left to right till it became a blur. Black soot from his feathers flew in all directions creating a thick haze, through the haze Eve giggled since she couldn't see Ignites face through the soot. The soot quickly settled on everything, even on the small ledges of stone within the cave and on Eve's white feathers turning them charcoal in colour. Eve titled her head, gazing in wonder at Ignites fuzzy head, his feathers where all ruffled up. The true colours of his brown and black plumage could be seen for once. Eve then broke into giggling again as she wiggled her tail feathers about. Ignite noticed this was a habit of hers whenever she got excited; it was odd because he knew another owl that did the same thing but he was a northern hawk owl. They would often flick their tail when excited like a hawk.

"Now you are covered in it, you look like a tiny fluffy sooty owl," said Ignite laughing, suddenly he fell dead silent and suddenly pulled his head back out of the cave. He heard the sound of an owl landing on the damp grass outside.

She was completely covered in soot from feet to head. Her white feathers where now patches of grey. Eve jumped up and down flapping her wings in excitement shifting most of the dusty soot off her. She watched it as it flew off and landed on the nest. Although the soot started to make her feel itchy and using her foot she twitched to give the side of her facial disc a scratch.

Ignite walked over to the side of his forge and picked up a metal over and covered the coals with it and then walked around his forge and out of the stony half circle entrance of his cave. A northern hawk owl stood in the mist with the damp grass covered in dew up slightly past his grey feathery legs hidden under his thick plumage. He was slightly taller than a barn owl. His grey breast feathers where heavily bared with black and white all the way up to his neck which was light grey. He had pale yellow eyes surrounded by a grey and rimmed with black. His wings where mostly back with white barring. His head was spotted with black and white with strips of black down the back of his head.

"Hey, Zoltus, it's been a while, where have you been?" Asked Ignite overly joyed to see his good friend back.

Zoltus looked happy to see Ignite as well, although Ignite could tell there was great sorrow behind his pale eyes.

"I took a flight to the Forest of Tyto to visit Eve's hollow and placed Zavas body in a more appropriate place after the owls left. There were three owls, Arxcis, Tytoden and another one which the two called High Tyto Solaris," said Zoltus saying the High Tytos name darkly.

Ignite suddenly became very shocked from the news, speechless, he couldn't believe it. He thought that Zoltus must have misheard the owls.

"Racdrops, no way, the Pure Ones all died eight years ago, you should know this Zoltus, don't be silly ,you were there in the War of the Embers," said Ignite under his breath so Eve wouldn't hear.

"Oh, they exist, but that seems to be all of them, only three left. They said they were after her. Solaris sent out Arxcis to track her down, he left in this direction. I had to take a different route that's why I was so long." said Zoltus as he gave Ignite a worried look.

"Let's just hope he cannot track to save his life," hoped Ignite. "If he comes here I will rip his gizzard out, that's if he has one," added Ignite in a slightly angry tone.

Zoltus waved a wing at Ignite to tell him to keep it down; he didn't want Eve to know.

"I don't think he could even make it across the Zephyr Ocean, it's always windy out that way, he'd never make it," explained Zoltus as he remembered seeing the old owl.

Eve heard Ignite outside talking to another owl; she then began to wonder who it could be. Getting up she noticed that the scorching head had begun to slowly fade from the cave and be replaced by a very cold chill, the same chill from her dream. Listening in carefully she could hear the cracking and spitting of hot coals, it was a noise in which she had never heard before. It interested her far more than what Ignite was talking to the other owl about. Looking around her section of the cave she noticed the warm glow had disappeared and replaced by shadows. Puffing her feathers out a little she tried to cover her wispy legs and tucked her wings tighter into her sides as she sat back down in her nest. Looking around in the darkness with only one wall with the dim glow from the forge she began to wonder about the past. She remembered how lovely it was to warm up against Zava on a cold day, she remembered how her soft down use to keep her warm. Now, she missed her Mum terribly and her down had mostly fallen off. Shaking her head she set her mind on thinking about other things, she began to listen carefully into what Ignite was talking about, he was talking about her. Wanting to investigate Eve stood up and walked out from behind the wall, it was the first time she had left the cave. She began to wonder how Ignite had got her in there if she had fainted. But then her thoughts where interrupted by the cold air that grabbed her attention; she had missed the warmth of the heat she felt before. Steadily Eve walked closely around the forge which still had warmth seeping out from under the metal cover. The warm ambient light from under the cover glowed on the stony walls. She looked at the forge and wondered what made it so warm, she dared not to touch it as she had no idea what it was, it could have been dangerous for all she knew. Then looking over the forge and up at the wall she paid careful attention to the objects hung up as she walked around the forge towards the entrance. On the wall hung two pairs of battle claws side by side, looking at them ran chills through her gizzard, the screeching of her family could be heard faded in the back of her mind, and the battle claws reminded her of Arxcis from her dream. She only knew what battle claws where after she had seen Arxcis and Tytoden wearing them, she remembered Arxcis battle claws being covered in blood of her father. She found it hard to image an owl could have weapons to kill one another. One pair was larger than the other and was made of metals which where deep red and chrome. The other pair where much smaller and made from metal which looked like chrome. The deep warm glow from the forge made their chrome like razor-sharp edges and acute points glimmer in the ambient darkness. Feeling as if she was going to yarp up a pellet out of fear her gaze peeled off the battle claws and rested on the other objects that sat on a metal shelf lodged into the stone. Two of the objects looked like metal owl poppins, one smaller than the other, they looked like tytos, one of them looked like herself. They were very well made; all the details could be seen. The other objects being various blacksmithing tools she had no idea about. Eve then made it to the entrance of the cave; the northern hawk owl then spotted her and stopped speaking to Ignite as he watched Eve step outside in wonder and look at everything around her. There wasn't many tytos in this strange land and this is why Zoltus was so intrigued. The cold seeped through her feathers as she stepped out on to the damp grass that came half way up her body. Looking at the grass all around her she was shocked, it was wet, the ground felt almost spongy. At first she hesitated to move, seeing Ignite looking at her she suddenly started pushing through the grass and cuddled up to ignites fluffy feathery side under his wing. She felt it was much warmer there. Ignite twisted his head around to look at Eve.

Looking around Eve saw a large clearing of grass that surrounded by tall dark evergreen conifers shrouded in thick mist that smudged into the darkness of the forest. The mist hung low across the luscious green grass. The trees where so tall they stretched out towards the moon in the middle of the darkness covered in glittering stars of all sizes and brightness. In the distance on the right stood a huge mountain above the canopy, the white peeks faded into the mist. The clearing was very quiet compared to the Forest Kingdom of Tyto, the odd bird or could be heard singing their songs all around her.

"Oh, you woke up young'un," said Zoltus looking over joyed at Eve. He had heard of her story and it saddened him.

Zoltus churred as Ignite pushed Eve out from under his wing with his head towards Zoltus. Eve began to shiver as the cold creped under her feathers; sitting down on the damp grass to keep her legs warm Eve began to bob her head about to get a good look at Zoltus. She had never seen an owl like him in her life, and he was a completely different colour from herself and Ignite. This owl was grey, white and black with pale yellow eyes! Eve then ruffled her feathers, she shook all the leftover soot from earlier and then her gaze fell on Zoltus again.

"You are all covered in dirt, have you been trying to build something at Ignites forge?" asked Zoltus as he churred, he thought Eve was really adorable, the opposite from her past.

Eve then wiggled her tail feathers as she usually did when she was excited even though she had no idea what Zoltus was talking about.

"Oh, we northern hawk owls do that when we are excited too, look," joyfully said Zoltus who also started wiggling his tail pushing the grass from side to side. Ignite sighed but couldn't help but laugh at the two.

Ignite then gave Zoltus a hard stare, Zoltus picked up on it quickly and stopped moving his long tail feathers about. Zoltus knew what Ignite was thinking about, no words needed to be exchanged. When Eve had been asleep, resting from the long journey south back from over the vast ocean that separated the Forest Kingdom of Tyto from the mysterious island of Zephyr. Ignite told his best friend everything what had happen to Eve, the owls, how the family where killed, everything.

"It's good you brought her back here, they do not know of this place, it's pretty isolated being an island and all," gravely said Zoltus glancing at Eve who was looking at a ladybug in the grass.

But Zoltus and Ignite both knew that if Arxcis was a skilled tracker he would soon find Zephyr. They hoped the ocean and its notorious weather was enough to part the lands enough so he and his squad wouldn't travel across.

"That's true," said Ignite feeling reinsured.

"Even when I was a Guardian at the Great Tree I said nothing of this land. The other Guardians do not know of it either. Also they are still in very small numbers; they cannot do much right now. I think they are after Eve simply because she's a young tyto. But they also have you in their sights too it seems, after you attacked Arxcis, Solaris wants your gizzard," said Zoltus taking a deep breath looking away from Ignite and over to Eve.

"I hope they stay in small numbers, for Eve's sake, for the sake of all the creatures that live here," said Ignite looking over at Eve in worry; he couldn't understand why any owl would want to hurt her.

"I also overheard them talking of an owl called Mark, a masked owl who had joined them while I was there. Solaris said to Mark that he was good to tell him of Eve's family. Mark also said that Eve had often spoke about you know to him and Eve said that one day she would join them too," explained Zoltus.

Ignite sighed deeply and looked over at Eve again, he hoped that what Zoltus said wasn't the case.

Ducking down to peer in at what Eve was looking at in the grass Ignite asked cheerily, "Eve, what have you got there?"

Eve twisted her head around looking up at Ignite. Ignite noticed that most of the down had fallen off Eves body and head, her flight feathers almost completely grown out and her facial disc had fully developed. She had a distinctive plumage to her with ruddy brown patches on the top of her head that faded down her back with a pure white facial disc. Some feathers on the back of her head where curved up a little and where not so flat like her parents even though she had the same colours as her mother she was still darker. But she had kept her white facial disc and body, the upper body was just a tad darker.

"Not sure, have a look," said Eve looking at the ladybug again as it began to crawl up a blade of grass.

Zoltus then came up beside Ignite and leaned in to have a look.

"Oh, it's a ladybug," said Zoltus simply as he turned his head to look at Eve intensely staring at the ladybug with her dark eyes.

Suddenly Eve pushed it off the blade of grass with her half folded wing, snapping her head to where it landed on its back and pounced on it, ripping the grass and dirt up with her talons. Zoltus gasped in shock. Ignite nudged her with her wing that made her stop.

"What did you do that for?" strictly asked Ignite giving Eve a serious look.

Eve said nothing and looked at the crushed ladybug in the dirt.

"Am sorry," quietly muttered Eve looking across the ground.

"Oh, Ignite, you shouldn't have hit her like that," softly said Zoltus taking a step forward. He was being almost like a mother figure.

"Your right, I didn't mean it Eve, I just don't want to see anything be…" paused Ignite searching for the right words, he wanted to say 'murder'. "Be killed like that," added Ignite.

"Jax said I had to get my own catch next time," explained Eve looking up at both Ignite and Zoltus.

"Oh, you are hungry," said Zoltus as he just worked out why Eve had acted like that. "What about we both go together to get something now, I'll show you how to fly as well," said Zoltus on an even higher note of excitement.

"Really?" exclaimed Eve excitedly as she jumped up and down. "I have been waiting for this for so long, Altair can already fly, but not me," said Eve as she looked down at the ground in woe.

The memories of all the terrible things that she had seen began to flood into her mind again, one stood out from the rest. The moment when Altair hopped across the hollow and took off into the sky, slowly he faded into the darkness, never to be seen again. It brought a tear to her eye which was then swallowed up and taken over by a warm hatred in her gizzard for her brother.

"Eh, Eve, what's wrong?" panicked Zoltus as he had noticed that Eve did not pick her head up for a long time to look at him.

Eve then finally looked up at Zoltus, she had been crying since her black eyes where glossy from tears.

"I am crying about my brother, he left me, he didn't care for Mum," sobbed Eve as Zoltus wrapped his wings around her.

Ignite watched the two, he thought they got on so well, he was happy for them but he didn't know how to show it. He was still finding it hard to cope with Eve and what he had been through with her. He thought if it wasn't for him Eve would be dead or just as bad, with those evil owls. When he had come back from flying in the awful weather his weathers where soaked to the skin, he was very surprised with himself that he even made it across with Eve.

"You are very soft Zoltus," said Eve on a happier tone as she tried to speak through Zoltus's layered breast feathers. Zoltus was an owl of the South and North Peaks of Zephyr.

"I am going back to my forge Zoltus, look after Eve. Make sure nothing happens to her OK?" told Ignite as he walked through the mist and grass towards the soft warm glow of his forge.

Zoltus took note of what Ignite said as he turned his head while hugging Eve and watched him disappear into the midnight mist.

"Don't worry Eve, you are safe now, we will protect you, this is your new home now Eve," reinsured Zoltus as he folded his wings back into his sides. "Did you know that I am an ex Guardian? Search and rescue chaw is the chaw I was in, with Twilight," said Zoltus as he knew it would cheer her up, every owlet loved the Guardians.

"Really!" said Eve in awe.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter five: To take fight**

"Right, Eve, I want you to span your wings out like this," explained Zoltus as he stretched his grey wings out into the mystifying fog. Only the thick black and white barred marking of his wings pierced through the darkness. "When you do this you can feel the air curling around your wings. You must feel for this, as this is the life of flight. Learn to shape the wind at your will and you will master flight," positively spoke Zoltus standing in the damp grass that came half way up his breast.

Breathing in deeply he felt the cool air fill his lungs. He was prepared to teach this young owl everything he knew as a Guardian. Looking out across the clearing at the gloomy forest he knew that within the nocturnal darkness brewed danger. A danger in which would soon spill poison throughout the known owl kingdoms. In the Timber Woods of Zephyr Eve was safe.

Like a perched ghost, Eve gazed through the heavy haze with dark eyes, as black as polished stones. She stood gripping a thick root of a conifer tree that grew oddly over Ignites Igloo shaped cave. Fidgeting with her toes for a brief moment, Eve's gizzard filled with tension as she dug her Talons into the damp bark, creating coarse marks.

"Zoltus?" questioned Eve inquisitively. "When will I be learning how to hunt?"

Zoltus looked down at the floor and lightly shook his grey and black head from side to side before looking up at Eve, giving her a puzzled look she cocked her head to one side and smiled in a meddlesome manner.

"Well…" said Zoltus as the word rolled off his beak before he sighed. "First, you have to learn how to fly," continued Zoltus as he threw a smile at Eve. "Do not rush things."

Understanding, Eve nodded her head lightly at Zoltus as she spread her wings out into the mist, the moonlight caught them, making her white feathers glow slightly in the night. After a brief moment Eve began to feel the chilly air gently push against her newly fledged flight feathers. Gently bring her wings down to a half flab she felt the light breeze swim around her feathers. She truly felt as light as a feather, she felt as if she could float away any moment. This brought joy rolling up inside her gizzard. Every day she had been thinking about flying, every dream was about flying. If it wasn't about flying it would be about her family.

The two owls then folded their wings back to their sides. Eyeballing Zoltus with great respect Eve saw him as a prodigious owl. Zoltus then began to think that Eve had turned out to be a very good listener, he didn't expect this, and he didn't expect her to be such a quick learner either. Since at other times she would be a pain in the feathers to look after and would often give Ignite and himself a headache.

"When you fly you must feel all the currents of the wind in your feathers, this includes your tail feathers which act as a rudder in the air. You move your tail feathers to change your direction along with tilting your wings." explained Zoltus. "Also," he paused to think. "On both of your primary feathers, secondary feathers and along your wings edges are your fimbriae. They are tiny and along with being able to separate your flight feathers you are able to fly completely in silence," said Zoltus with a smile. "What makes us owls special compared to other birds, we also have great hearing which I am assure you've already noticed."

Eve nodded as she remembered what her Da had told her about barn owls hearing.

Eve then piped up with an intrusive question, "But does it matter if I fly silently or not?"

Zoltus cocked his head to the side, "Of course it is important!" hooted Zoltus.

Eve then sighed, turning her head slowly she looked the other way as she often would. She still had her rebellious owlet behaviour; looking out to the dense forest all that surrounded her she thought to herself about where she was located, where ever she was in was very far south thanks to the inbuilt compass in her head.

"Well…" the word rolled off his beak in an almost patronizing manner as he looked at Eve in thought, wondering if Eve would look back at him and fill in the rest of his sentence. "If you want to successfully catch prey then yes. It's very important."

Eves head then spun around slowly, gazing deeply at Zoltus she asked, "Do I have to fly silently to be a Guardian? Because I thought it wouldn't matter as long as I was a strong flier, right?"

"Flying silently is very important, almost all owls fly silently, except those who do not have the soft feathers we have," said Zoltus fixing his eyes on Eve. "Now, give it a go," said Zoltus rolling his wing out from his side and pointing it across the clearing. He was trying to encourage her as best as he could.

Standing still Eve looked down at Zoltus, her gizzard began to quake with the fear of failing. Till now she had never attempted to fly; only hopped around Ignites cave earlier. Hearing only her own heavy breathing and the nocturnal creatures of the night her gaze shifted slowly from Zoltus to her feet, along her wing and finally back to Zoltus. Doubting herself she began to wonder how she was going to pull it off, it seemed impossible.

"You can do it, I know I was like this at first too," encouraged Zoltus in a lighter tone.

Zoltus wished for Eve to just go for it. Watching her, he could see the doubt lurking behind her dark eyes as she scanned the ground below. Eve's attention was then pricked as Zoltus words echoed through her head. 'I was like this at first too.' Tilting her head up slowly to look at Zoltus she suddenly felt an overwhelming feeling, a burning desire growing in her gizzard that lurched. If he had become a Guardian she could too. She had a thirst to impress Zoltus; she wanted to become the best owl at flying he had ever seen.

"I can do anything," thought Eve to herself as she spread her wings into the air with a fiery glint in her deep dark eyes.

Zoltus's eyes grew wide as Eve pushed her wings downwards, using all her strength her feet lifted effortlessly off the ground causing wind to stir under her. Bringing her toes together she placed her legs under her tail and began to rise higher and higher into the frosty night air. Her second flap was just as powerful as her last. Her ascension was wonky but she had it, she had the feel for the shape of the air around her. Zoltus grew excited to finally to see Eve with her feet off the cave as he bobbed his tail.

"Eve! You are doing quite well for your first try," joyfully said Zoltus.

Once Eve was above Zoltus she could feel the air currents moving in the sky in every direction and struggled to keep herself balanced out.

"Urrr, Zoltus, this is difficult!" called out Eve in desperation panic as she wobbled from one side to the other.

"Use your tail, use those Glaux blessed feathers of yours, balance yourself out, you must learn to understand those currents," instructed Zoltus as he watched Eve quaver above.

Eve swayed from one way to the next; Zoltus began to wonder if she was going to fall from the sky as he fidgeted from agitation. Twitching her fan like tail left and then right she began to counter balance as she flapped her wings to compensate.

"Don't try and fly into the air, just guide. Put you wings like this!" explained Zoltus as he spread his wings down low and ran across the ground tilting every so often as he turned.

Eve finally managed to spread her wings out wide, gripping on to the air. She felt her wings shape and curve the air around her secondary feathers. Gliding parallel to the ground she slowly made her decent. Eve flew in complete silence over Zoltus; she flew like a ghost that disappeared into the midnight fog.

"Now you have to land, reach out with your legs and grip the ground with your talons," hooted Zoltus at the thick mist.

As Eve got closer to the ground her tail feathers and feet touched the tips of the grass blades. She then began to panic as the ground rushed below her, "Zoltus! How? I don't get it!" screeched Eve in fluster as she began to shake her wings in an attempt to stop her from crashing into the ground.

"Just try," cooed Zoltus as he began to hop through the mist, soon Eve came into view as a misty spirit with blurred ruddy shades to the back of her wings.

Eve threw her legs out in front of her and hoped for the best. Breaking through the mist her feet ploughed into the damp grass. The impact quickly rippled through her hollow bones causing her whole body to buckle to the floor with her face slamming into the wet ground. Zoltus swiftly hopped across the wet grass towards Eve hoping if she was OK.

"This grass is too wet, I hate it," apathetically mumbled Eve with her face in the grass.

Zoltus then hopped around Eve and bent down close to her ruddy feathered head. "I think you came down a little too fast, remember you are not hunting the grass but trying to land on it," softly laughed Zoltus standing up to his full height to lightly pat Eve on the head. "When you go to land try titling your wings opposite to the ground and fan your tail out closer to your body. This way you can create drag that's slows you down so you can land with no problem," added Zoltus as he balanced on one foot to fan his long hawk like tail out and balanced by spreading his wings out.

"Uh huh," muttered Eve getting up by pushing her wings against the ground, getting up she looked deep into Zoltus's eyes and began to wonder what he thought of her. Her face was covered in little bits of dirt and moisture from the grass. She had tried to impress Zoltus but instead she felt embarrassed with her failure to land.

"Do not worry, it takes time, it would have been easier if you landed on a branch, more to grip on to," explained Zoltus but Eve just slowly pealed her gaze off him as she turned her head to look out towards the dense conifer forest.

Zoltus sighed as his wings dropped by his side, "Uhh, do you want to take a break?" questioned Zoltus unsure of what to say; He noticed that Eve looked worn out. He wasn't sure if it was her lack of preening or her constant anguish over her parents. He felt sorry for her; he wished there was more he could do.

"No, I must do this," said Eve absently as she gazed deep into the distance, her mind and thoughts where somewhere else. Ignoring Zoltus Eve narrowed her eyes at the dark forest shrouded in mist as if she was trying to peer through its thickness to discover something, "But," she paused dramatically turning to Zoltus with a plain expression on her white feathered face; he instantly noticed something light up in Eve's dark eyes, a small fiery flicker of determination. "I will take flight tonight, into that deep sky," said Eve with depth filling her tone as she looked up in awe at a patch of sky which could be seen through a break in the mist. Looking up, Zoltus could see the millions of pinhole lights in her shiny eyes that caught all the details of the night.

"That mist is my thoughts and the stars are my goal. I must clear this mist, and so, I must soar above it. I must soar above everything," thought Eve as she gave a sturdy look at Zoltus. In her mind she wanted to be a better Guardian then he ever was. Her words echoed endlessly inside her head as if her head was an empty plain. "My parents," the word echoed once more, she was felt as if she was alone in her own mind. "I-I must put them behind me, even though I love them so with all my heart, soul and gizzard," Eve then looked down in thought at the ground tightly clenching the grass in her foot in anguish.

Zoltus could see that Eve was thinking profoundly and decided to be silent. He could clearly see an idea had sparked somewhere inside her feathered head. Eve ruffled her feathers up causing left over down to lift into the midnight breeze, she watched as it slowly whirled in the air, fading into the darkness. Something about her own solitude made her feel at peace as if she felt like that piece of down. In the midst of all the thinking something else raised, a feeling of dread in her gizzard, dread which she had never felt before. As if something was going to happen, but she pushed those feelings aside as she began to preen her feathers down her right wing.

"I have to try and take off from the ground Zoltus," said Eve confidently as she walked off towards the centre of the clearing, looking around as she scanned everything with her sight. Zoltus suddenly saw a new confidence grow in Eve as she suddenly took the lead in her flight lessons. He watched as her figure melted into the mist. Zoltus then wondered what had gotten into Eve, that long silence of her just a moment ago, it puzzled him greatly.

"Why do you say that Eve?" question Zoltus as he followed Eve out into the clearing, feeling the cool mist breeze past his feathers made everything seem more mysterious then it already was.

Eve gave a quick glance over at Ignites Forge glowing in the eerie darkness surround by tall bristly trees. It sure looked warm to her. "I say that because I have to use more effort to get off the ground, no?" coldly questioned Eve as she stopped suddenly turning her head over her shoulder, not looking directly at Zoltus. She thought that the heat from the forge could provide good thermal drafts.

"Erm, Yes Eve, it takes a lot more effort than you think," said Zoltus wearily as he lifted off the ground with one down stoke, the mist curled around his wing tips.

Eve tracked Zoltus attentively through the air as he seemingly effortlessly pumped his wings and landed on a thin branch that stretched out from the trunk of the tree that grew on Ignites forge. On the branch, Zoltus could see Ignite throw a glance up at him before he put his head down again to work over his anvil.

"You have no air to glide on; this is why it takes more effort. You have to get yourself off the ground with your own strength," explained Zoltus. "It is called a dry take off," added Zoltus which a more serious tone then before. "But if you glided from up here you have the thermals created by Ignites forge."

Eve slowly walked out to face Ignites cave, the warm glow shone on her white feathers, her gaze slowly moved to the ground as if she was centring herself. Taking a deep breath the hot air came out like steam in the bitter cold air, she watched as it twisted and faded into thin air like smoke. She stretched her ruddy and dark buff coloured wings out at her sides. Zoltus watched carefully, his tail began to bob about in enthusiasm as he leaned forward in anticipation. Time seemed to have slowed down suddenly as Eve threw her wings into the air, focusing all the concentration she had Eve she pushed down with all her might and fortitude. Zoltus's pale yellow eyes flashed in the night as they grew wide with amazement. The dew on the thick parting grass blades shook off under Eves wings. The mist began to curl upwards into the night as Eve rose like a ghost into the darkness that surrounded her.

"Heh, I am the scroom of the night!" screeched Eve in sheer exhilaration, giggling in mid-flight.

Eve had now lifted herself a few feet in the air. Again she began to feel the very light wind current try and take control of her flight. The words of Zoltus suddenly came back to her. She must feel the wind, and shape the the air around her to control the current it instead of the current controlling her. She kept her eyes on the ground in front of her, with eyes full of concentration she watched as she lifted into the air. Hovering, she threw a serious glance at Zoltus; she thought to never doubt him again.

"No, you're no scroom, you're alive. Although with feathers that colour you sure do look like one," laughed Zoltus which was soon cut off. "Now, Eve, come forward, you have to get to this branch," added Zoltus with a sober tone as he lightly stomped one foot on the branch.

"Oh, Racdrops!" screeched Eve as she struggled to keep herself a float in the air, she had it at first but couldn't hold it for too long.

"Balance! Balance Eve!" hooted Zoltus, but it was too late, Eve fell, disappearing into the tall grass. Hearing her hit the floor on her front again Zoltus flinched as it sounded painful.

"I'm good, don't worry," said Eve waving a wing out from the misty grass.

Zoltus sighed with relief as he relaxed his body on the branch. Eve really knew how to make him worry.

"I am going to try it again," confidently said Eve.

Looking in the direction of where Eve was, Zoltus watched as she suddenly poked her head through the murky grass.

"Good idea Eve," Zoltus hooted.

As Zoltus spoke Eve spun her head around, her white heart shaped face priced straight through the dense fog while everything around her melted into one dirty dismal colour, opal. It gave Zoltus an icy chill through his gizzard. Watching Eve as she began to hop around cashing after a month she looked so innocent. Zoltus felt a flicker of dread creep over him about her and he wasn't sure why.

"I don't get it, why am I reacting like this? There's nothing wrong with Eve…" thought Zoltus as he gazed at the damp grass below him in doubt, something about Eve disturbed him greatly; he just couldn't put his talon on it. "Nah, I am just being paranoid about those who are after her," thought Zoltus.

Memories of Solaris flooding into this mind left him feeling agitated about Eve's safety, what if Arxcis did track Eve back across the vast Unknown Ocean? What would the owls do once they had Eve? All these questions fill his head and gizzard with dread.

With Zoltus lost in his own thoughts, Eve stood motionless, watching as the light brown and grey month flew deep into the thick mist above the grassy clearing. Fleeing in a crazed panic; it quickly disappeared into the mysterious darkness. It didn't stop her from hearing it flutter away as she cocked her head to the side abruptly. She would have liked to go after it but the thought of not being able to fly picked at her thoughts. This gave her more of a reason to learn how to fly.

"I am going to try again, going to try and fly again!" said Eve with an excited screech as she twisted her head around to look at Zoltus.

Zoltus flinched from the noise as his feathers puffed up slightly and then slowly flattened down again.

"Yee! You barn owls are loud," hooted Zoltus dully as he ruffled his feathers up.

Eve let another quick and sharp screech fill the air, this time it was hoarser then before, the noise resounded throughout the clearing. Zoltus narrowed his pale yellow eyes at Eve as a joke in response Eve laughed, shaking most of her feathers in the process.

"You know what you are? You're cheeky," jokingly said Zoltus. Eve was a fledging; she still had the behaviour of an owlet.

"I am cheeky tyto and nice to see you Zoltus," chirped Eve as she giggle and snigger hysterically.

"It's _'meet'_ Eve, "nice to _'meet'_ you Zoltus"," said Zoltus correcting Eve as he giggled.

Eve paused for a moment to look at Zoltus and then lurched forward to giggle all over again; dew shook of her feathers as she laughed. Zoltus didn't see what was so funny but he was glad to see Eve having a good time. It was good to keep her mind away from what happened. Out here in the middle of the Timber Woods was her new home and life, far away from the Forest Kingdom of Tyto.

"Ok Eve! Show me what you can do!"

And with that Eve hopped into the air and with one mighty down stroke his lifted gracefully above the grass and into the gloomy night air. The mist defused the lighting of the almost third quarter moon which made all her bright white feathers luminous. She swayed from one side to the next as she struggled to keep herself balanced. Twitching her flight feathers and tail feathers this way and that she began to balance herself out and with each flap she came closer to Zoltus, she couldn't believe it, she was flying! She had never in her life felt so free, flying was not what she imagined it to be, it was better.

"Indeed, she is quick to learn. I could see her going far in life," thought Zoltus as he watched Eve to the side of him throw her legs out in front of her in attempt to land. Ignite once again looked up at Zoltus from his forge.

Eve's dark eyes where fixated on the reedy branch, "I mustn't miss, I mustn't buckle and I must not topple over," thought Eve to herself as the stern words reverberated in her mind. Then out of sheer reaction she did the worse thing should could at that moment, she closed her eyes tightly shut as she felt her talons grip around the dry bark.

Zoltus threw out a wing as Eve began to collapse forward, stopping her from falling off the other side of the branch Eves face fell softly into his wing. Zoltus then gently pushed her back upright on the branch as he folded his wing back in.

"You did well, you seem a little weak in the legs but your flying is remarkable," hooted Zoltus full of joy.

Eve smoothly turned her gaze from Zoltus to observe out across the clearing to contemplate, "Yes, I know. But I will focus on getting better at that," said Eve with a smile on her features.

Looking out across the clearing filled with blurred cold muddy colours and trees that looked like gloomy almost black silhouettes. Eve's mind slowly drifted off, she felt so peaceful here. Closing her eyes slowly the forest slowly turned to black. Listening, she heard nothing but the creatures of the forest. Breathing, the air was thick, laden with mist and the smell of coming rain filled the mysterious night air. With her eyes closed Eve began to see colourless shapes that swirled around like a rippling water surface. Soon the shapes merged into calm washed-out ghost like figures in an identifiable location. Flinching, she heard a screech that quickly faded out from the dark corner of her mind; it grew as loud as it possibly could then stopped suddenly. Echoing the noise warped back into the darkness of her mind. A faint memory of her brother came forth, blurry and worn at the edges she saw Arxcis stabbing Avia's feathered breast with his battle claws as he lay hung over a blooded branch. He slowly pushed his claws deeper into Avia breast before pulling them back out blood leaked out of the wounds as Arxcis laughed at his blood drenched battle claws. Snapping her eyes open she looked once more deep into the calm environment around her. Only her own heavy breathing could be heard.

Meanwhile Zoltus hopped off the thin branch in complete silence and landed with a crunch on the gravel outside Ignites glowing Forge. No grass grew for a few feet outside the Forge because of the intense heat which roasted the ground daily. The fiery orange radiance shone on Zoltus's colourless feathers and gleamed in his gentle yellow eyes. Peering inside, Zoltus swirled his head to look around the cave; he could see where the channels of heat where cased from Ignites forge from the patterns of soot on the walls. He threw a quick glance at the objects on the shelf and the sets of battle claws. His gaze then relaxed on Ignite who was busy twisting a fine sunset yellow hot tube into the shape of a small talon for Eve's metal owl poppin. His body casted a thick shadow behind him that moved with the ever changing glow of the coals. Looking down at his hot coals a warm glow casted on his dark soot covered feathers.

"Ignite!" called Zoltus rushing into the Forge with a burst of speed, talons scratching against the scorched grey stone he ran up to Ignite in excitement. Just the Forge parting the two of them he felt the wall of heat hit him suddenly. The heat began to dry his eyes as he squinted his eyes till they were just pale gold slits in his grey face.

Sighing Zoltus questioned Ignite in a dull tone, "Did you see Eve fly?" Watching Ignite as he hoped for his reply he could see the deep concentration in his mighty orange eyes that glimmered in the blazing light of those coals. A light breeze blew through the entrance of the forge, the coals grew brighter as they crackled and hissed.

"Yes..." slowly said Ignite tilting his head up slightly as if was trying to make himself seem interested.

Sighing lightly, Zoltus watched the soot shake off Ignites feathers as he shook his whole body trying to bend the brightly glowing metal over the curved edge of his anvil. With one foot he held the small piece with a pair of tongs while he tapped it lightly with a small hammer. Zoltus was not impressed by his friends' response. But he knew the old owl very well; he knew that he had always been like this, rough around the edges. He knew that he cared for Eve with everything he had. Looking across the forge at the grey slate shelf's lodged into the white-ish rocks his vision blurred and warped from the heat. On the shelf he noticed a botch job of an owl poppin that looked like Eve, next to it was a more refined model half complete. While Zoltus was looking along the shelf Ignite dipped the tiny glowing metal talon in a cold bucket of slightly muddy water next to his anvil. The metal lit the inside of the bucket for a brief moment as the surface of the water erupted into a hiss and a stream of bubbles that boiled at the surface.

"Yes, I did Zoltus. I am amazed, never seen flyin' skills like that from a young'un tyto," said Ignite as he looked sharply at Zoltus with the glint of fire in his deep orange eyes. It was as if he was worried about Eve. He knew very well her great skills could bring her unwanted attention.

Lifting the thin talon out of the water it was no longer glowing bright yellow, but dark, the colour of wrought steel. Bring the piece closer to his face using his tongs, Ignite focused his sight and began to turn the piece this way and that. Looking closely he examined every inch of it for any bumps in which he could quickly put back over his forge and flatten them out over his anvil.

Putting the talon down he looked at the rest of the sculpture, "lookin' good," said Ignite proud of what he had done. He hoped that Eve would like it, it looked just like her. He had only the bits of legs to weld together and forge the feet and rest of the talons.

"It looks great as always Ignite," approved Zoltus with a smile on his features as he pealed his gaze smoothly off the half-finished sculpture and at Ignite.

Looking very sure of himself Ignites feathers puffed up, "I would have to be Zoltus; I haven't been a smithy for 30 years for…" said Ignite as his voice trailed off into nothing, he beaked the last words 'for nothing,' slowly.

Freezing, Ignites rich orange eyes widened as he fixed his sight on something outside of the forge. It was if he saw a ghost.

"What?" hooted Zoltus impatiently. "What is it?" questioned Zoltus bobbing and weaving his head in a puzzled manner.

"Eve," he said simply as a happy smile slowly crept onto his sooty features. "She's flyin', I just saw her do several maneuverers just now,"

"What? Really?" question Zoltus shocked as he spun his head around suddenly.

Zoltus could not believe is eyes, he watched in sheer awe as Eve silently took a sharp dive in the middle of the clearing, disappearing under the thick blanket of mist. A brief moment passed with no signs of her reappearing.

"What… the?" said Zoltus under his breath, he almost beaked the words.

A washed out heart shaped face slowly faded in from the other end of the clearing like a scroom. Eve's flight was steady, strong and above all agile but gentle; she baffled Zoltus how she caught on so quickly, she flew at breakneck speeds for an owl. A cold chill ran through Zoltus Gizzard and up his spine, he tried to ignore it as best as he could.

"She's good Zoltus, better then you I think," laughed Ignite over the crackling of the coals in his forge.

Eve then suddenly broke through the thickness of the mist, every wing beat she made the mist curled around the tips of her newly fledged flight feathers. Her dark eyes fixed on Zoltus who cocked his head to the side in a puzzled manner when Eve threw her legs out in front of her, spreading her talons out a lump of dread suddenly grew in Zoltus's gizzard. Hopping out of the way Zoltus dived to the other side of the cave, pressing his densely feathered body up against the cold sooty wall Eve passed behind him. The sound of talons scratching into cast iron could be heard as Eve landed on Ignites Anvil. Ruffling her feathers up proudly she turned her head suddenly to look eye level with Ignite.

"Eve! That was a very dangerous stunt!" hooted Ignite on a high pitch note making Eve flinch as she puffed up suddenly.

Taking her gaze off Ignite she spun her head around to look at Zoltus, "I saw smoke," simply said Eve as she ruffled her feathers up.

"You did?" asked Zoltus interested as he narrowed one of his eyes.

Eve nodded towards Zoltus, "Yeah, it was over there," said Eve pointing towards the mountains with her wing. "Near the bottom of that huge rock thing."

"The North and South Peaks?" questioned Ignite in a perplexed manner as he looked at Zoltus puzzled.

Eve nodded innocently; she didn't know what a mountain was exactly.

"That's impossible, it's too cold for forest fires," said Zoltus shifting his feet. He knew so because he hatched in the Northern Kingdoms.

"Unless, someone set them alight," said Ignite with a serious tone as his eyes glowed with the colour of coals. "Zoltus, go and check it out, I will stay here with Eve," said Ignite throwing a glance at Eve.

Zoltus looked up at his old friends soot covered face and gave him a serious nod, he felt like a Guardian once more. Moving away from the wall Eve watched as he passed in front of her, tracking him with her eyes Eve was confused, where was Zoltus going? The smoke? But why? She watched as he took his shiny silver pair of battle claws off the hook lodged in the wall, they looked as if they were made from polished chrome. The razor sharp edges of the battle claws glimmered in the dim light, looking at them made Eve cringe every time.

"Ohh! Can I come Zoltus? I wanna see the smoke too," said Eve excited.

As Zoltus slipped the first claw on his right foot he pulled the mouse leather string to tighten it, perfect fit. Pausing to tie a knot he looked up sharply at Eve with a warm glow on her back from the forge.

"No, Eve, you cannot," said Zoltus dully as he continued to tie the leather with his beak.

Eve sighed and continued to watch Zoltus carefully as her wings slumped at her sides from disappointment. Ignite then tapped Eve on the side of the wing to insure her it's OK.

"It's too dangerous Eve," said Ignite softly as he patted Eve to tell her to get off his anvil. "Come' on Eve, you gotta go to sleep now."

Eve didn't budge; instead she kept her eyes fixed on Zoltus as he slipped on the other claw. Was he going to fight? Eve couldn't see why else he'd put his battle claws on. Was he going to get hurt? Was he going to be killed like Jax? Ignite patted Eve a little harder this time as it seemed she was day dreaming.

Finally Eve spun her head around to look at Ignite and moaned, "Nuah, I dun wanna go to sleep, am not tried Igniteee. I don't want Zoltus to goo!"

Ruffling her feathers she stomped her foot with her talons starching the cast iron anvil.

"You've done a lot of flying today, you need it, you are a young, growing owl," said Ignite softly on a lighter tone. "Also, Zoltus is going to be fine, remember he's a Guardian."

Finished tightening both claws onto his feet Zoltus looked up at Eve, "Eve, you have to go to sleep, when I was a chawlet I needed plenty of sleep during my training years to become a Guardian."

"But, but, will you be OK?" asked Eve a little upset; she was worried Zoltus was going to get hurt like Jax did.

"Eve," Zoltus fixed Eve in the gaze of his yellow eyes, "I am trained, I will be fine."

"Oh, OK!" said Eve happily as she hopped off the Anvil and walked into her part of the cave.

Zoltus took one good look at his owl friend, nodded to him, turned around and flew off, disappearing into the misty abyss.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter six: To influence**

Facing the setting sun Zoltus perched in solitude on the treetop of the evergreen conifer that had rooted it's self into the top of Ignites stony cave. His bold, heavily barred feathers gently shifted in the light breeze and lit up against the fiery tones of the looming twilight sky. The tightly folded edges of his double hinged claws shone an intense off white, their smooth polished chrome faces reflected the various hues of the flushed clouds. With pastel gold eyes glinting harshly like the flames of The Dry set ablaze he gazed deeply into the furious scarlet sun, feeling its raw hostility bearing down on his insignificant figure it made his gizzard lurch with raw anxiety. He vividly remembered the dark plumes of heavy smoke rising into the troubled sky, the roaring, the crackling of the monstrous flames engulfing the lanky trees that groaned and creaked under the infernos fury. He could never forget the infamous pure white heart shaped faces of those haunting owls, with their polished eyes as hard as frosted stones behind their gleaming helmets of steel, a symbol of pure death.

"Zoltus!" exuberantly called out Ignite breaking the brittle silence while he circled his way up around the broad tree, "How did it go ye old hoot?" he joyfully asked alighting down on a bristly branch just below Zoltus's left, the reedy branch curved downwards under his heavy frame.

Zoltus looked glumly down at his cheerful old friend who turned his head to look out towards the hazy forest before him, "The Pure Ones…" he hesitated, Ignites ear tufts stood up in a puzzled manner, "Three of them, Arxcis with two others I have never seen before, all of them where in full armour set light to The Dry. Lucky for it being too cold and the fact that the wind was blowing east across the Zephyr Plains the fire did not spread to the surrounding trees," he said grimly with a sigh of disbelief.

Ignite quickly snapped his head around and looked up sharply at his close friend, the warm, ambient light instantly caught his thick crystal clear cornea. His fluffy breast and ragged facial feathers where completely coated in a thin layer of dusty black soot from his embers, only his intense dark orange eyes pierced through. After the news finally sunk into Ignites stubborn mind his black and brown ear tufts swept back like feathered ears of a frightened dog, he could not believe that the Pure Ones had actually returned to wreak havoc on the balance of life once again.

Zoltus turned his head away and looked at the radiant sunset that casted golden beams of light upwards through the gathering slate grey clouds, "I think Eve needs her own pair of battle claws so she can defend herself when she is older. I sense that things could get bad soon," dismally said Zoltus drifting into his own thoughts.

Zoltus looked over his folded wing at Ignite who quickly grew very still and his expression hardened over, he knew that the absurd idea was not going to sit well with him.

"No!" boomed Ignite, suddenly puffing up his dark feathers almost stood on end, "Absolutely not!"

Zoltus suddenly flapped his wings wildly in a desperate attempt to keep Ignite at peace, "Shh… Great Glaux Ignite, be quiet."

Ignite ignoring Zoltus took a deep breath, his densely feathered throat puffed out before he scowled at Zoltus and arrogantly turned his head to look in the other direction, "The last thin' we need is'a bloodthirsty fledglin' after those who slaughtered her parents!" fumed Ignite.

Zoltus's thick layer of feathers wilfed closer to his skin, "She would be killed if they ever came to take her away," defended Zoltus weakly, he felt Ignites concern and his own weakness in his flawed argument, inhaling slowly he continued in a stronger tone, "She must learn to fight… Yes, I hate the thought of it as much as you."

As Ignite stared at the grand forest shrouded in damp fog before him he slowly shook his head in sorrowful disbelief knowing deep inside he old gizzard that Zoltus was right, those birds where forever getting close to their goal and they were not prepared to give up any time soon. The almighty eye of fire had almost completely tucked it's self behind the coniferous forest lined horizon; Ignite knew this only as the cue for Eve to awaken into the cruel enigmatic world around her that grew cold to her touch. She would often wake up early due to mystifying nightmares of a dark, timeless void that stretched out beyond the eye could see. The dreams had started just after her hollow was unsuccessfully raided by the Pure Ones on Marks fathers order as his father is an ex Pure One. After Mark was banned from the hollow he complained to his feather who then promised to bring Eve back to him. The best and only thing they could do to protect Eve was to hide her away from the open world, to conceal her within the murky clearing surrounded by dense conifers and fog. There was no other option they could think of, to stand and fight they would be surely be killed in an blink of an eye and Eve taken away from them forever, never to be seen or heard from again. Thinking, Ignite shifted his feet on the thin, flexible branch. Exhaling heavily his warm breath hit the frigid night air like misty vapour, his translucent third eyelids swept effortlessly over his crystal clear eyes that glinted in the last drop of light. He already began to regret what he was about to say.

Ignite looked up at Zoltus despondently, his grey feathers swaying lightly in the cool breeze, and paused for a brief moment to watch him ruminate, "I am," Ignite gravely began, hesitating to talk. With a regretful sigh, he tried to shake the absurd idea from his tense mind, "I am goin' to need to find some bonk coals, I ran out of 'em a while back. I need 'em to forge the claws an' only place I can get'em from tis' the dreaded Dry." Ignite sighed, looking away in shame, for he never imagined himself making cold nickel weapons of death for a tiny fledgling who had just barely learned to fly. It was downright unspeakable."  
Zoltus looked at the side of Ignites feathered face which he could clearly see was stricken with great concern; his deep orange where fixated on the darkening forest.

Zoltus knew deep down inside his gizzard that he made a bad choice, but it was the only choice he and Ignite had, "You should get going soon, before Eve wakes up. I will stay with Eve while you are out, but be quick she is going to quickly wonder where you are. Personality, I think she has a vague idea of where and what I did today, she is not as stupid as some may think; I have noticed she is rather cunning in her own ways. She is also sadly in the support of the Pure Ones; if anything she will draw herself to them under her own will."

Ignite gave Zoltus a hard stare of honesty, "I will, you know you can rely on me," said Ignite glaring at Zoltus who went quiet and took Ignites word, "I'll go'an grab my bucket'n claws an' be off to The Dry, don't worry about me, I can take care of'em oddly opinionated birds who haven't got a gizzard to share between'em," chuckled Ignite to himself showing his age, his feathers shook as he bobbed on the thin branch.

Zoltus knew that Ignite had been like this as long as he knew him and he was not going to change his attitude any time soon for anyone, not even if the Pure Ones enforces their iron laws upon him, he would die standing up for what he believed in.

"Zoltus, you know me," solemnly said Ignite, his deep orange eyes as vibrant as the setting sun locked with Zoltus's mild gold ones, "I haven' known you for eight years for nothin'," said Ignite before spreading his awesome wings out into the chilled air, with one powerful down stroke he took to the twilight sky, the dry soot shook off from his feathers and whirled effortlessly into the open air.

Ignite threw one last glance under his barred wing at the small grey owl who in response gave a firm nod of reassurance as he watched his good friend disappear into the darkening haze of nightfall that quickly began to fall across the land. Ignite veered off sharply to the right, silently he tipped into an angled dive before half folding his wings close to his body, the icy air rushed passed him as it flowed through the fine fimbriae of his feathers. Suddenly extending his wings out they caught the air like feathered sails, levelling out feet from the damp ground he fluttered down landing on the soggy gravel with a wet crunch. Trying to peer through the thick fog and into his gloomy cave he caught a glimpse of Eve's faded ghost like figure through a gap in the fog. Walking in through the fog he saw she was perched sound asleep on the edge of his cold cast iron anvil, the fine white feathers of her tucked in facial disc stood out from the darkness. Dreaming her dark, morbid dreams of an unexplainable empty void she stood on one wispy feathered leg with all her freshly grown plumage puffed up to keep herself warm from the bitter drafts that drifted their way in from the mouth of the cave and spaces between the slated stones. Walking closer towards Eve he glanced around his forge. It did not warmly light the cold unwelcoming cave with its soothing glow of soft orange shades and comforting heat as usual, nor did it give the shiny polished metals their hard glowing edges. Instead it sat dormant in the cold darkness covered by a thin tin sheet and forgotten under an even blanket of dusty black soot. The cloudy fog gradually began to roll its way into the cave, filling the cave like light steam it peeled off from the outside like clouds breaking away from each other in the blistering wind.

As Ignite watched Eve sleeping peacefully he noticed there was barely a scrap of fuzzy down left on her newly fledged feathers. Her heart shaped facial disc was a brilliant white and evenly rimmed with burnt amber all the way around her face with wheat buff patches around the corners of her black glossy eyes. Her crown down to her lower nape was mostly auburn with a few random patches of charcoal, buff and white with small white spots; from her crown-upper nape she had a wide ridge of feathers like a drawn back Mohawk that gradually faded down out towards her lower nape. Her upper breast was light corn silk compared to her lower breast, belly, tail coverts and buzzy legs which where all the same white as her facial disc with small black dots on her belly fading out down her thinly feathered legs. Her flanks where a light ivory almost white which continued throughout the rest of her ventral wing, fading out to white towards her inside wing. Her dorsal plumage was a lighter tone of auburn compared to her crown and nape but with denser random patches of dark brown, buff and white with small white and black spots.

Ignite looked away before calmly shaking his head in disbelief, groaning his warm breath hit the frosty air turning into mist, "Eh… I told her to stay off there," he muttered to himself, passing Eve he made his way around the left side of his forge.

Eve suddenly snapped open her finely feathered eyelids revealing her poignant jet black eyes. Staring through the stony mouth of the dusty cave she waited for her eyes to focus on the fog gradually rolling gently across the dew covered grass. Her attention was then pricked by the distinctive sound of hollow metal objects being moved behind her, followed by a familiar heartbeat; she instantly knew it was Ignite preparing his forge.

Turning her head smoothly to the right she looked over her folded wing at Ignite picking up a deep nickel bucket by the handle with his beak.

Observing him a crude idea popped into Eves' wicked mind, and slowly a smirk full of mischief crept across her beak, "Good tween. No?" eerily asked Eve in a smooth unemotional tone followed by a low snicker.

Gasping in shock Ignite let go of the bucket which hit the solid stone floor with an ear resonating 'dongggnnnggg' causing Eve to jolt upwards. As the bucket rolled back and forth on its side in a semi-circle it crushed the sandy dirt beneath making a crusty noise. On edge Eve cautiously leaned forward and watched the bucket closely as it gradually rolled to a stop. Ignite groaned out of irritation and his expression darkened over, in response Eve took a small timid step back she could tell that he was not in the best of moods.

Ignite swiftly turned around with his large talons striking against the floor, looking seriously up at Eve his intense gaze was as sharp as the claws he forged, "Oh, for the good of Glaux, Eve!" snapped Ignite, Eve took another timid step back to the edge of his anvil with her eyes glued onto Ignite, "Don't do that again!"

-/-

Meanwhile, high above Ignites cave and above a thick layer of fog Zoltus perched on the treetop in the afterglow of dusk. Relaxing peacefully he was suddenly interrupted by the hollow metallic ringing in his ear slits that instantly made him grow cautious, was it the Pure Ones raiding the cave? Had they finally found Eve? And Ignite was defending her with his smithing tools? Throwing a steely glance at the darkening sky his gizzard twisted with deep dread before he spread his hawk like wings and took off hastily from the spiny treetop, leaving it to rock in the bitter air. Spiralling his way down he glided gracefully, curving tightly around the board tree in tighter and tighter circles. With the shape of the cave insight through the fog he threw his densely feathered legs out in front of him, touching down on the wet loose gravel his light polished nickel claws clinked with dread continuing to roll up inside his gizzard. Warily trying to peer through the fog he tried to within visual distance of inside the cave without getting too close to be spotted or heard, silently creeping forward he made sure not to make a single sound from his claws.

Eve in anticipation watched Zoltus's clouded figure prudently step forth through the mouth of the cave and out from the thick veil of mystifying fog that quickly washed of his grey plumage and dissipated into the warmer air. Nippily glancing around him tensely he noticed only Eve and Ignite where in the murky cave with no other owls, sighing in relief his feathers and gizzard settled. The way Zoltus had walked into the cave made Ignite throw a puzzled look at him with one of his dark ear tufts stood on end. Still a little bit edgy Zoltus roughly shook his lightly dew covered feathers causing the crystal like droplets of icy water to fly in all directions, landing on the parched soot the limestone quickly absorbed it.

"What is going on in here?" asked Zoltus, his gaze switched from Ignite to Eve and back to Ignite.

Ignorantly pealing his gaze away from Zoltus Ignite briskly swiped his bucket up from the stony soot covered floor with his talons clacking against the bumpy nickel surface. Placing the bucket down upright on the floor he sighed before looking over his wing back at Zoltus.

"Eve woke up. That's what," apathetically said Ignite looking over at Eve who fearfully wilfed, "Oh come 'on, get off there!" complained Ignite ruggedly waving his left wing at Eve.

Eve then hopped off Ignites cold anvil and walked with her head down depressingly towards Zoltus without uttering a single word from her beak. Pressing herself against Zoltus's fluffy plumage Zoltus softly patted her on the back with his left wing.

"Alright!" boomed Ignite breaking the awkward silence within the dingy cave, gruffly ruffling his feathers up black soot took off into the still foggy air, "I am off," he continued, picking up the hammered metal handle of his bucket with his dark beak and toddling over to the entrance, passing Zoltus and Eve.

"Where are you going?" innocently asked Eve turning her almost down-less head around to look cutely at Zoltus for answers.

Placing the bucket down on the floor Eve could clearly see it was half her height, "Goin' to collect coals young'un."

Curiously stepping forward she peered over the edge and then inside the unpolished bucket which had burn marks on the wall, "Can I come?" she sweetly asked as her voice echoed off the thin uneven metal walls of the bucket, inside her head her thoughts where far from sweet but envious because she thought that Ignite and Zoltus saw her as a burden just like her family.

Ignite sighed out of frustration as he looked over downheartedly at Zoltus for his help, he did not want to hurt Eve's feelings as he knew she was sensitive but he had to leave.

Zoltus churred softly in response, "No silly, you cannot go with him to collect coals, it is dangerous and you could get hurt. Also, you have just learnt how to use those wings of yours, maybe one day I can teach you the ways of Colliering," said Zoltus, his golden eyes lit up with pretend excitement.

Ignoring Zoltus Eve turned to Ignite and yearningly watched him pick up his bucket, "Heh, just a way to get away from me I see," spat Eve quietly, All lies… all of it, all you ever wanted was for me to behave, to shut up. I will prove you both wrong one day, just wait and see, bitterly thought Eve.

Zoltus quickly threw an apprehensive look at Eve grinning disturbingly at Ignite without her noticing before he looked away and waved a wing at Ignite wishing him good luck on his journey, "Gluaxspeed!"

Ignite waddled outside the cave with his bucket held by the handle in his worn charcoal beak, small droplets of water began to slowly form on the outside layer of his dense plumage and with each step he took the loose wet gravel crunched under his heavy frame. Casually stopping he placed his bucket down on the soggy grass padded ground before he calmly titled his head up to gaze deeply into the starry night sky surrounded by low level fog, the waxing gibbous moon could be seen subtly lighting the fine edges of the wispy clouds, he appreciated all the small things which most would take for granted. Inhaling the fresh night air his translucent third eyelids swept from the inside corner of his rich orange eyes diagonally across his crystal like cornea before he stretched out his broad wings, his mighty wingspan was almost twice the width of his cave. Slamming down and wrapping his huge caramel feathered foot around the worn metal handle he took off into the darkness of the night with the bucket held swinging in his left foot.

As Eve stepped outside onto the wet gravel she looked up at the serene night sky, the millions of starts twinkled in her reflective eyes of obsidian as dark as the night sky. She felt that the darkness tonight felt as empty as her gizzard, she felt something open, a rift within herself, a missing space as empty as the void like dreams she kept having. What is this feeling? She questioned herself, she knew something within her had change, she felt herself become bitter and hateful as if the empty spaced had to be filed with something. She watched curiously as Ignite disappeared into the vast elusive distance. Why do you never take me with you? Am I just holding you back? At least the Pure Ones want me with them. Eve thought mulling over; it was as if her mind began to tear down the middle and into two.

-/-

Just off to the right of Ignites' inactive forge, behind a dense layer of dew covered ferns hid four steel and leather armoured tytos who all waited patiently behind a darkened tree in the dankness for their Captains word. Captain Seleuko Alba, the leader of the squad was a tall dark barn owl whose eyes shaded by his spiked Y styled barbute rimmed with black where as hard as stones. He stood motionless in front of his inferiors peering between the hairy emerald green leaves, his icy gaze locked onto Eve with callous intent.

"Skylar," quietly called Seleuko to his young lieutenant, his voice was dry and broken due to an injury to his neck during the War of the Embers.

"Yes Captain?" merrily replied Lieutenant Skylar Alba as he stepped forth from behind the tree and to the left side of his captain.

Skylar was a much paler barn owl then his Captain and wore the same plated lemming leather cuirass and matte steel helmet but without the rim of black around the face opening.

Seleuko slightly turned his head to his subordinate without looking directly at him and explained, "The eagle has left for the forest fire in The Dry, just as General Arxcis had planned. Hopefully he will be captured by Tytoden's squad and brought back to the stronghold to face the High Tyto," paused Seleuko for a brief moment to think, "You and the others are to seize the little one. Execute the hawk if he gets in the way," coldly commanded Seleuko as a wicked smirk that slowly snuck across his pastel pink beak.

"Of course Captain," politely said Skylar with a gentle bow of his head before stepping back into the darkness and turning to face the others behind the moss coated tree, "It's time," he said simply.

The other two behind the tree where known as Privates Kai Castanops and Tytus Castanops, they were Tasmanian masked owl brothers. As they emerged out from behind the tree their charcoal and light chestnut plumages could be seen with their rich chestnut facial discs thickly rimmed with black, they wore the same plated cuirasses. Standing side by side they simultaneously gave Skylar an obedient nod with no emotion.

"You heard what the Captain said, now get out there and pin them both to the ground, make sure none of them escape, Seleuko and I will meet with you when you have Eve," said Skylar firmly pointing a wing towards Ignites cave, "Now go!"

With confident nods they both immediately took wing to the moist air, swiftly breaking through the veil of thick vegetation they soared into the misty clearing, passing the moon Kai emitted a long, bone chilling screech that raked through the empty, eerie clearing and echoed through the ocean of trees as a warning to all, Tytus soon followed suit.

Alarmed, Zoltus suddenly flung is body around in shock and instantly caught sight of the huge chestnut tytos gliding overhead, his old gizzard died within him as his eyes grew wide with terror, he could not believe his eyes. Eve gazing with empty eyes began to tremble with fear as she pressed up again Zoltus who wrapped his fleecy wing around her, holding her close Zoltus desperately tried to think of a way out to protect Eve, Why? Why have they come so soon? Zoltus thought to himself as his body tensed and dug his claws into the ground, he felt helpless.

Leaning his head down toward Eve, he softly whispered into her ear slit, "Eve, you must hide, go to your nest and wait, I will fight both of these bad feathers myself," he then pushed Eve out from under his warm wing, "Go!"

Eve shaking in sheer fear started to break into a panicked run towards Ignites cave, trying to look back without stumbling over she caught glimpses of Zoltus shifting his feet in cased in deadly nickel to prepare himself to fight.

Watching Kai meticulously he anxiously waited for him to come in to attack, but instead he flew right over his head laughing as he made a beeline for Eve running away for her dear life. Eve in a desperate run stumbled over the rough grass, franticly still trying to get away she began to push herself up to only stumble over again and again. Before Kai could swoop down on Eve Zoltus effortlessly hopped across the grass and covered her with his wings in an attempt to shield her from harm. Snickering evilly Kai swooped down on Zoltus with preying eyes thirsty for blood shaded by his ominous helmet. Throwing his long, fuzzy chestnut legs out in front of him he extended his double-hinged retractables of death with a swift metal 'ching', they glimmered in the darkness before burrowing deep into the soft flesh of Zoltus's back, blood quickly began to pool in the wound.

"You Guardians are so weak!" cackled Kai, pushing his claws in further.

Shrieking out in sheer agony every muscle in Zoltus's upper body contracted which forced him to pull his wings back and uncover Eve before toppling backwards. Frolicking about he tried to shake Kai off him but was unsuccessful due to Kais' claws being hooked deeply into his flesh. Out of pure spite Kai pulled him away from Eve cowering on the ground, laughing with sadistic joy he tore his blood drenched claws out from Zoltus's upper back and tossed him away. Landing softly next to Eve he gently pushed her face into the wet ground with his turned in claw.

"Without a fight, that's good young one. You are learning already unlike that pathetic excuse of an owl," said Kai pleased.

Tumbling across the grass Zoltus disappeared into the heavy fog out of view from Eve, laying still on his back with his wings awkwardly spread out he hear his own blood rain down all around him, slowly the searing pain set into his wound and nape, he hold body began to feel limp and distant.

Lifting her head up under Kais' claw she looked into the fog where she could hear his racing heartbeat, "Zoltus!" she cried before Kai softly pressed her head back down with his claws dripping with fresh blood.

Hearing Eves cry for help Zoltus used what strength he had left to push himself up from the ground onto his shaky legs numb from pain; his dorsal plumage was covered in his own blood and dew from the grass, "Eve!" he called out weakly as he began staggering through the fog, "I am coming for you!"

Desperately trying to get to Eve as fast as he could his vision began to blur out of focus. Don't yeep, don't yeep, not now! He thought fighting to stay conscious. Then suddenly from out of the gloom he heard a throaty screech, from which side he could not tell. All he felt was a pair of razor sharp claws pick him clean off the ground and dig into his neck and carry him further away from Eve, her whimpering, heartbeat and breathing slowly faded into the mist as so did his consciousness after Tytus slammed him hard into the ground. Softly chuckling to himself Tytus stepped off Zoltus's blood covered body giving him a disgraceful scowl before walking towards Eve with a fiendish grin across his beak. Stiffly turning hear head under Kais claws Eve looked between the lush green blades of grass at Tytus's rich chestnut figure walking through the moist ghost like fog. She could no longer hear Zoltus's heavy, irregular breathing or panicked heartbeat, her gizzard quickened with dread. Was he dead?

"Kai, the cowardly Guardian flew away," snickered Tytus with Kai joining in shortly after.

Tytus then looked down at Eve with Kais battered claw wrapped around her small auburn head, "He flew away like a true coward, a true Guardian, he wasn't interested in saving you but only his own tail feathers, he couldn't give two pellets about you."

Aimlessly staring into the endless fog Eve's dark eyes grew wide with horror, her gizzard twisted in to a painful knot of hatred, tears of betrayal quickly rolled down her fine feathered face like dew on a blade of grass. Zoltus, I always knew you didn't care, no one ever did.

Then ominously out from of the fog Seleuko's slim, dark buff figure silently landed next to Eve, Skylar following shortly behind, "Good job," he said pleased.

Kai and Tytus side by side saluted them by slightly bowing their heads before Seleuko sharply snapped his head to look down on Eve whose eyes watched him carefully filled with tears, "You are a tyto are you not?"

Eve silently nodded without hesitation, her eyes did not move from Seleuko who waved his wing at Kai, ordering him to get off Eve. Kai gently lifted his foot up from gripping Eves head and placed it back softly on the damp ground.

"Up," simply said Seleuko watching Eve cautiously push herself up from the ground and stand to her full height to face Seleuko, "Come with us and we will show you your true potential," he said passing his wing to Eve, "Prove to them as a superior species that they were all wrong, so when you see them again they will cower under you as we take back what is rightfully ours."

"Gladly," darkly said Eve with a graceful bow of her head, looking up she looked at Seleuko with a fiery glint in her dark, glossy eyes, "I will not let you down."


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter seven: Warp**

Within the dark, ominous Great Hall of the Pure Ones inner stronghold, where guards roamed, heavily armed with an array of weapons, stood six Tytos of various species on a strip of velvety crimson carpet. The timeworn, lofty caen limestone walls where dimly lit by lambent flames in iron Tyto decor wall torches. Tattered madder dyed silk banners with the Pure Ones sinister motif draped down the blind arcades, swaying gently in the moaning draft, which drifted mournfully through the eerie concentric castle.

In the middle of the hall, Eve stood warily on the left side of Arxcis as he spoke to the others. With her plumage damp from the drizzling rain she dared not to look up at the fearsome old owl, in dread of how he would react if he caught her gawking at him. Looking behind her she timidly glanced around the vast hall and seemingly endless corridors that faded into the surreal gloom, her eyes grew wide with wariness as her gizzard painfully rolled forward. Turning her head up to look around, her dark, profound eyes flickered scarlet from the bright crackling flames above that cased several long dancing shadows behind her and the others. Her gaze then rested on the entrance of the Gate House surveyed by two guards wearing the meanest serrated battle claws she had ever seen. Her breath quickened, and her gizzard slowly tightened, she never imagined everything to be so frightening, she felt so insignificant to the scale of her surroundings. Staring blankly, she was mesmerised by the guards' reflective claws gleaming in the darkness, she could not help being scared of them. Yet, at the same time, she felt drawn to have a pair for herself. This notion tied her mind in knots, she no longer knew right from wrong; she began to wonder if going through with joining the Union was really the right idea.

_I remember… my Mother, Zava. She and my Da use to tell me to always believe in the Guardians. Not in violence or the 'evil' of The Pure Ones. _In a nostalgic trance she softly beaked her Mothers words, "_A band of knightly owls_ _who would rise each night into the blackness and perform noble deeds." _Suddenly the gory scene of her dead mother shielded by Altair flashed within a split second before her eyes and disappeared again which abruptly snapped her out from her trance, _No… the Guardians cannot exist. Not after that. _Eve thought, strengthening her belief in the Pure Ones.

Blinking slowly, she peeled her gaze away from the guards' claws and cautiously eyed the same four Tytos who coaxed her away from Ignites homely cave. With her mind shifting again, she vividly remembered her flight through the miserable drizzling rain to the emerald vine covered stronghold, hidden deep within the eastern region of the Timber Woods. She recalled the decisive moment of when she looked back on the cave for the very last time before it faded away into nothing but a sea of darkened trees shrouded in the bitterly cold fog, never to be seen again. It was if one moment she was there, then the next was a fading memory and then nothing, nothing but a mare memory to remain swimming aimlessly in her bleak ocean of thoughts.

_Zoltus did nothing to save me; he just flew away like the coward he was. Ignite did nothing to protect my family, he thought taking me away to Zephyr would help me believe in the Guardians more. The Guardians must be nothing but legends, stories for owlets. Telling tales of when they once lived. Yet, the Pure Ones are in front of me, they exist. Even after the War of the Ember, _thought Eve, motionless and obedient she stared at Seleuko. The same Tyto she followed through the forest and filled her head with these strange, confusing thoughts she could not clear.

In a line, ordered by lowest to highest rank, Kai and Tytus on the end seemed to be just as tense as Eve in the intimidating face of Arxcis. Kai held a slightly damp rabbit leather botkin covered in small droplets of rain which contained Zoltus's armour and weapons, which the two brothers had stolen from Ignites forge. Eve had told Seleuko of their existence after he asked if there was any "_valuables_" in the forge. She had told him all about her family, the escape of Altair, Zoltus, and his career as a Guardian, Ignite, his past with the Pure Ones, his forge and every aspect of knowledge he knew about Zephyr.

Skylar, between Seleuko and Tytus, the palest of the four, remained calm due to his natural cool composure, while Seleuko showed no fear at all, but admiration and proudness for his old General.

"All of you!" addressed Arxcis, breaking Eve's train of thought and passingly glancing at each owl individually.

Eve felt like she wanted to yarp a pellet right in front of Arxcis, but instead she held it down in fear. Arxcis's cold, steady voice alone was enough to make her feathers shiver from facial disk to tail as much as any non-Tyto.

_I do not even want to know what he's like when he's angry, best to just do what he says or else I am in for it, just like what happened to, Avia, _thought Eve, with the vivid memory of Arxcis gutting Avia wide open across the facial disk and upper breast with his shiny claws of death still fresh in her mind. She remembered the blood falling to the fern covered ground below like heavy rain and his limp body slipping off the curvature of the branch and disappearing into the dark, dew laden vegetation. With the memory burned into the back of her mind, she knew very well that she was never going to forget it, not for a long time.

"Good work in bringing Eve to me so quickly and unharmed," said Arxcis, his expression darkening over before he looked at his subordinate with a smirk curling on the sides of his beak. "Seleuko, you operated the mission successfully; the High Tyto will certain be pleased with you and Eve as you have both gained us valuable information. Tytoden even got information out of that non-Tyto; everything is going according to what His Pureness wanted."

In response, Seleuko smoothly bowed his head; he was thrilled but did not want to express it in front of his General, who was against the use of emotion. It had been so long since he last got a compliment from Arxcis, he thought it could be possible that he will give him a promotion.

"General Arxcis! The mission went smoother than expected due to Eve's obedient cooperation… it was as if she _wanted _to serve us by her choice. Barely any force was needed," said Seleuko, briefly glancing slyly over at the short Tyto who looked threatened by her looming surroundings.

Eve gazed steadily at Seleuko before titling her head up to stare inquisitively at the burly leucistic Tyto next to her. Slowly narrowing her dark eyes she began to deeply wonder. She questioned if she was ready to become a Pure One, to become her dream. Or if it was just a selfish act, even after she witnessed the very owl standing proud next to her massacre most her family. She did not understand why she was not upset, the more she thought about it, the less logical sense it made. Yet she could not help but be interested, something unknown inside her thoughts and gizzard guided her, something corrupted her thoughts, warping her mind made her do it. Thinking more, digging deeper inside her mind she realised that she had nowhere else to go, the Pure Ones seemed to like her here. They were her _new family_.

_I wonder… Do I have what it takes? Mum and Da told me that the Pure Ones where cruel, unowlish, 'villains from the depths of hagsmere itself''. Will I become a villain? Like those who the 'Guardians' fought against? To be 'vanquished'? But my Mother wand Da where fools, always caring for Altair and, Avia… the weakling he was. What would they have known? "I have a purpose, they didn't," as Seleuko said to me through the fog. _

"Kai!" snapped Arxcis, sharply flinging a strict stare at the timid private who suddenly jumped to life, "Take the botkin to the metal smith at once! It is to be replicated to fit Eve within three nights."

Eve jolting out of her deep thoughts was suddenly thrown back into the stark reality once more due to Arxcis throaty screeching. Slowly focusing her attention on Arxcis, she peered at him from below; _I'm going to wear armour? _She questioned herself with a hint of excitement.

Kai briskly bowed his head before he gripped tighter onto the handles of the botkin with both feet and pumped his huge chestnut wings, taking off from the ground. Sliding the botkin across the thin carpet and lifting it into the air, the contents clattered with a metallic ring, as the lemming leather sack swayed lightly in the shapeless air.

In flight, he threw one last look over his left wing at Arxcis, _Why the Great Tower? She's just a recruit at this stage… unless you and the High Tyto are thinking about promoting her for a higher purpose? Impossible! That wouldn't even make any sense! She's just your average, Tyto, with her head in the clouds! She has to go through years of training! Not to mention go through her TUPSI successfully! _Kai thought, envious of Eve.

Eve tracked Kai with her eyes till he silently banked to the left and disappeared around a corner.

"Tytus!" screeched Arxcis, swiftly switching his gaze to the dark Tyto who now paid full attention to his superior, "Go to dungeon five and tell Lieutenant Major Tytoden and that _foolish_ eagle owl of the recent news," tartly said Arxcis, disgusted by Ignite, he hardly considered him an 'owl' at all.

Eve, lost in her usual thoughts turned her head to the left to stare blankly at Tytus.

Tytus, being an almost splitting image of his younger brother, Kai, but taller and darker quickly saluted Arxcis by lightly bowing his head. Upon looking back up he locked eyes with Eve midway and momentarily froze. He noticed something fascinating about her; she had a deep, profound look in her young eyes that burned with the reflection from the flames above. Standing straight again he narrowed his eyes at the ruddy Tyto before slowly looking away and hastily taking off without a sound.

_Tch! Arxcis is going to make Eve into a fine Pure One. Ignite is going to fall to pieces when he finds out, that's if he is still even in one piece to start with, teaches him for trying to act so tough in front of him, _bitterly thought Tytus, banking hard to the right and gliding calmly down the dimly lit gothic corridor.

Passing each wall torch they casted an ambient glow that swept across his dark plumage before he faded into the shadows again. Thinking in his own solitude, he thought about Eve and the look she gave him which was like a painting in his mind. He wondered why he was so concerned, it was just a look from a young recruit, nothing more.

After the two Privates left, the atmosphere grew denser. Eve, feeling alone with Arxcis began to sense the dread creep back into her hollow bones; she knew it was almost time for Arxcis or one of the other Officers to directly talk with her.

Arxcis then sharply leaned in towards Eves' clean facial disk and gazed into her frightened eyes. Watching his own reflection he could see she was quivering under her fresh plumage.

"What are you fearful of?" questioned Arxcis cruelly, his eyes as black as death itself tunnelled into Eves' innocent ones which looked away, avoiding his omnipresent like gaze.

Silence fell like a lead curtain as Seleuko and Skylar watched unmoved.

"_Well? _Answer!" shirked Arxcis fiercely; Eve cringed and felt her feathers shift, pulling in closer to her body.

The silence fell across the hall once again; only a screeching echo remained bouncing off the solid stone walls and splitting off, down the drafty corridors.

Eve opened her eyes and slowly tilted her head up in dread and looked directly into Arxcis's eyes, "N-no, n-nothing… Gen-General Arxcis…" she stuttered, trying to hold back tears of terror.

Arxcis then huffed before leaning away from Eve's facial disk, "Good. Your obeisance will serve you well here," said Arxcis in a lighter tone. Slowly pacing around Eve, she felt his eyes bore into the back of her head as he continued, "Remember this. I expect you to show no fear; fear is for our enemies, the lower species. You must prove this as a Tyto."

Eve then gazed up at the flames dancing in front of her on the wall; the bright orange hue lit her polished eyes and ignited a small fire within her young gizzard. Gradually, it began to slowly mix with all her concerns and devour them. Like when the sun rises in the east and scotches the morning fog, evaporating the dew on the undergrowth before it slipped behind the west horizon to be seen another day. Rapt by the fire, she recognised the sensation from before, from when she first flew silently through the damp air, soaring across Ignites small forest clearing and disappearing into the frosty fog.

Swiftly turning her head away from the fire she looked at Arxcis, "I will… General Arxcis," said Eve, hesitating slightly before she placidly turned her head to continue gazing at the fire.

While gazing at the fire, Eve could not help but feel that within the center of her small fiery soul sat an even smaller empty void.

"Good. We will see when you start your training with the other recruits tomorrow night, unless the High Tyto says otherwise," said Arxcis pleased. Proudly turning away from Eve and towards Seleuko he briefly smirked at Seleuko in triumph over Eve's decision, "Take Eve to her chamber. There, she will wait to speak with the High Tyto, along with the other recruits, as he ordered."

Seleuko quickly bowed his head as Arxcis passed, "Certainly."

"Lieutenant!" called Arxcis, on the move without looking at his subordinate.

"Yes, General?" replied Skylar, catching up to Arxcis with a hope and walking with him on his right.

"Follow me; we are needed to meet the other recruits, as His Pureness ordered," he paused to look back briefly at Eve, "Unfortunate for them. They are not as obedient as Eve; I do not think they will go as far. I guess Marks father; ex- Lieutenant Major Sethos was right about Eve."

Arxcis, with damp feathers fluttered into the quiet air, promptly followed by Skylar. The two spectres of the night flew across the Great Hall and through the crumbling archway into the crisp air of the Inner Courtyard, where they were greeted gently by the soft moonlight that illuminated their flight feathers. The three young recruits standing in a line on the forested mint green grass watched in awe as the white Tyto landed stylishly in front of them. Sergeant Valus, an eastern grass owl came up to Arxcis and saluted him, flying off just as Skylar landed on the left of Arxcis.

_**-/-**_

Meanwhile, Seleuko aloofly peeled his gaze away from Eve and unfolded his damp wings out to shake off the excess moisture, "Follow me," evenly said Seleuko, with a curt wing gesture without looking back at Eve.

Eve caught the simple wing gesture and jittered to attention. Shifting her feet and slightly unfolding her wings, she anxiously got ready to take off with Seleuko.

Seleuko then took off as silent as a shadow on the wall and flew towards the lengthy East Corridor that branched off from the right corner of the Great Hall, parallel to the West Corridor with the Inner Courtyard in-between both corridors.

Eve being new to flight decided to copy Seleuko exactly, that way she knew she could not go wrong. Stretching her petite auburn wings out, she jumped then threw her first down stroke and lifted fluently off the floor. Surprised, she felt her body naturally do the rest for her without thinking too hard about it; this made childish excitement roll up inside her youthful gizzard. One shallow wing flap after another, she looked to her left and observed her wing for a brief moment to find that she could not hear a single flutter; she could practically feel the dusty air take shape around and under her soft wings and tail! Adjusting her tail and wings she noticed she was able to channel the air and direct it herself with pin point accuracy. Growing more comfortable in flight and more confidant in mind, she coolly swung her head around and kept a steely eye on Seleuko up ahead while she cruised along, making sure to follow behind him closely. She could not help but feel on top of the world at that point.

Seleuko noticed that Eve was picking up pace behind him and decided to peer curiously over his starboard wing at her, _Already testing out those new feathers of yours, I see. Must be a talented flier, they will make good use out of that, _thought Seleuko, looking away with a dark pleased smile across his puce beak.

Flying passed the large deteriorating archway of the Inner Courtyard on her left; Eve fleetingly caught a short-lived glimpse of Arxcis and Skylar with three Tyto fledglings lit by the moonlight, before the stony wall rushed by with a hollow roar.

_Are they the other 'recruits' Arxcis was talking about? _Eve thought, listening carefully to Arxcis talking about purity before turning her head away to watch the ground bustling with activity stream pass below her.

Leaving the uncanny openness of the Great Hall and entering the dim narrowed passage of the extensive East Corridor, harsh flares flickered passed Eve from both sides. Striking her delicate facial feathers they mirrored in her glass eyes with a flaming glint. Tilting her head up to look forward, she stared at a small foreboding entrance belonging to the dungeons up ahead on her starboard. Skimming a small crowd of Tytos in front of the entrance with her eyes, she spotted Tytoden with two dungeon guards; one a greater sooty owl and the other a ashy-faced owl, who both held onto the thick chains griped tight in their clutched feet, the chains where connected to the shackles around the legs of a large eagle owl covered in ashy soot.

And in that disturbing moment, Eve thought she recognised who the non-Tyto was, which brought shock to her hollow bones. Her trembling eyes grew wide with disbelief as seconds began to slow to nothing but a breathless still. She only knew one owl whose plumage was covered in soot, "Ig-nite…" slowly beaked Eve, hoping it was not him. Impulsively slackening her pace, she abruptly fanned out her tail feathers, tilted her wings and slowed down to almost a hover. Looking at the owl closely with his head lowered and saddened with grief, she knew the eagle owl was no other then the metal smith who cared for her so dearly, yet there he was, succumbing to the Pure Ones below her. Something in which he swore he would never do. She could clearly see the rusted shackles fastened tight against his downy caramel legs, cutting into the dehydrated skin and his battered, blood-strained plumage, with his ragged wings missing all his primaries, the old owl was a complete mess.

_What… have they done to you? _Eve thought, dazed, she could not help but feel as if it was her fault. The sight of him in peril made her melting gizzard slip to the floor. Stricken, she smoothly glanced up ahead and momentarily watched Seleuko fade into the dusty haze in wonder, before looking back down at Ignite to watch Tytoden order the old owl to look up at him when he was talking.

_What should I do? I do not know what to do. Should I help him? No, I cannot. I have my own life to live; Mark and Seleuko taught me that. I am sorry, Ignite… so sorry, I must go. For the good of all the kingdoms," _pondered Eve, before she gently closed her eyes and painfully looked the other way, banking away from Ignite she continued to fly hauntingly overhead.

Terribly peaceful in flight, she could not help but look back on Ignite again. Silently observing him from above, she tracked him with her sombre eyes set in her ghostly white face.

When Ignite looked up to prey to Glaux he caught sight of a small white Tyto with a spotty abdomen and legs that he recognised. In disbelief he suddenly acted as a dead weight and refused to be moved by the Pure Ones. As hope began to fill in his woeful gizzard he ignored Tytodens' warning to stab him in the back if he did not move and continued to joyfully gaze up. From when he first sighted her, he knew this Tyto was Eve, because of her distinctive plumage. To his surprise when he was most expecting Eve to say something to him, she just continued to stare unblinking at him as Ignites hopefulness withered down to nothing but a disappointed glare.

_No… Eve don't tell me, ye…be a turnfeather… _thought Ignite, feeling his heart take a dive.

Passing directly over Ignites head, his piercing orange eyes forcefully locked with her dark, unreadable ones that made her heart skip a beat and breathe tighten.

With no compromise, Ignite continued to stare intensely at Eve as she swiftly passed over him, disregarding Tytodens second threat.

"Eve! I don't know what ye is playin' at, but ye gotta get outta 'ere, while ye still gotta chance! Tell Zoltus! Tel- ekk," spluttered Ignite weakened from the lack of rest, food and old age, before he continued, "Zephyr is doom because of ye, ya the axel of it all!"

"That's it, I have had enough of this nonsense," mumbled Tytoden, before he ordered, "Guards! Get him walking up that hallway now!" and gruffly pointed his starboard wing at the end of the corridor.

The guards then quickly moved in on Ignite to attempt to grab him and move him along.

"No! Don't touch me! Get 'toff me ya Tyto scumbags!" insulted Ignite, cuffing Tytoden across the upper breast with his flight feather-less wing, sending the small Tyto to the stony floor on his back, knocking the wind out of his lungs, "Ye are never takin' me alive, not while th'ere be air in my lungs an' Eve is still with ya!"

"Guards!" called Tytoden laying down, "Pin his wings to the wall!" hissed Tytoden, getting up from the cold floor with a look of revengeful bloodlust in his spiteful eyes, "He will not get away with what he had just done so easily."

The two guards then brutally shoved Ignite from both sides up against the grimy wall and forcefully pinned each limp wing up with their serrated claws separated, pricing through the thin flesh of his fleecy wings.

Ignite wincing from the pain then tried to lurch forward and get away, but was met with searing pain that coursed through both wings, followed by the stark realisation that if he pulled away he would tear his wings apart. Glancing at his port wing he noticed that the sooty owl had practically nailed his wing to the wall. He thought about lashing out at the guards with his beak, but they were both out of reach.

"Frink!" cursed Ignite under his laboured breath.

"Give up! It would be a stupid idea for you to try and attack me again. We have you against a wall; there is no escape from here. Not after you attempted to kill General Arxcis and struck me to the floor," explained Tytoden riled, standing in front of Ignite out of reach.

Ignite then looked soberly into Tytodens selfish eyes for a last resort, "Lieutenant Tytoden, please. Just give me back Eve. She doesn't understand all this, she's too young, and she doesn't know what she's' doin'…" pleaded Ignite, struggling to keep himself awake.

"No. She's ours now…" cruelly replied Tytoden, self-satisfied that he knew he was in power he raised his metal adorned foot over Ignites starboard flank, the silver edges of the smooth tool of death gleamed dangerously in the dancing light.

"Ya filthy-hearted scoundrel! Go burn in hagsmere with the others ya follow. Come, do ya worst, I aren't afraid of no Tyto scumbag! Faced ya' lot before! I remember Arxcis in the War of the Ember, ye too yo-!"

Without out saying a single word, Tytoden viciously stabbed into Ignites tough mantle and tore down his flank next to his starboard wing. With the guards restraining Ignite in place, his high pitched cries of horror echoed down the empty corridor before the busy voices wearily returned. Tytoden had enjoyed every moment of it. Haughtily yanking his metal talons out from Ignites lower flank, blood oozed out from the wound and trailed off his menacing curved blades on to the stone before he gently placed his foot back down with a clink.

"Let him go," simply ordered Tytoden, watching Ignite, "Lucky, I did not tear his wing off."

"Why?" question Ignite weakly, his life suspended in the callous talons of his subjugators.

The two guards then plucked their claws out from Ignites wings and he passed out before his worn out body hit the floor front first.

"Take him to the infirmary. We are not finished with him yet," sourly said Tytoden, flicking the fresh blood off his claws, it hit the floor with a faint splat, "He still has information we need about this land. And he and that new recruit, Eve; still seem attached to each other. Arxcis might want to use him as bait to keep her here and show her that she no longer needs him. And then he will _die_ when Eve understands where her loyalties are."

The more Eve listened introspectively to Ignites disheartened cries echo behind her through the empty corridor, the more she felt a desolate void blossom from deep within the center of her fracturing soul. The further she floated away from Ignite, the deeper she went into the bowls of the Unions stronghold and the wider the hollow grew, pushing her happiness out from the sides. As silence set in like frostbite, gentle tears bled from her sable eyes.

_**-/-**_

With the dorsal side of his port wing, Seleuko coolly pushed back the fraying vermilion red drapery; the Unions emblem painted in jet black on the naturally dyed cloth began folding to the side. The vibrant fabric passed by Eve's inquisitive eyes, revealing a large gothic moonlit room, which she aimlessly wondered into out of innocent curiosity, walking across a fluffy patched together mouse fur rug she began to examining the lofty space around her.

Almost bare of items but not furniture, the room was trapezoid shaped with three lancet clerestory windows high above her. Through the recently cleaned glass poured a stream of moonlight that lit the pulverous air and casted faint elongated arcs of silvery white organza veils across the eroded mosaic floor. On both sides of the grey slanted stone walls next to the equilateral arched entrance, stood two grand oak wood bookshelves left by the Others, with hardly any books to its name on the dry and dusty shelves. On either side of the three curved stone window frames, the same ominous blood red motif banners of that in the Great Hall draped down almost touching the tiled floor. Below the long windows, and eye level with Eve was three metal hooks fixed into the wall for hanging up garments and armour. A short wooden perch stood next to the left banner with an easel made from various conifer branches used for reading and writing attached to it with vines.

"This is your allocated chamber; this was Lieutenant Major Shethos's chamber before he retired, so you should be most grateful for what the High Tyto has given you," huffed Seleuko, quickly glancing at the windows, "And, do not think about escaping out through one of those windows, we have guards posted on every corner of the stronghold. Stay here until you are summoned by the High Tyto," added Seleuko before he dropped the thick curtain and took off towards the spiralled staircase.

While walking to the center of the room, Eve's apprehensive eyes browsed around the excessively detailed ribbed vaulting ceiling before her gaze landed weightily on the sight of the lightening night sky seen outside the right window.

_Shethos? Marks father? A retried Pure One? They must be planning to train me to replace him or something. But isn't that what Mark is going to do? _Eve thought, mulling her situation over. When Ignite faded into mind, she could not help but feel that she had betrayed him.


End file.
